2010 Health Care Reform Law: Unpaid break time for nursing mothers
Signed into law on March 23, 2010, sec. 4207 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act amends the Fair Labor Standards Act (P.L. 111-148) by adding that:
(1) An employer shall provide a reasonable break time for an employee to express breast milk for her nursing child for 1 year after the child’s birth each time such employee has need to express the milk; and a place, other than a bathroom, that is shielded from view and free from intrusion from co-workers and the public, which may be used by an employee to express breast milk.
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Breastfeeding Legislation in the 106th Congress
Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney, 14th District of New York, has long been a champion for federal breastfeeding legislation. The following is a summary of the five individual bills she introduced on breastfeeding during the 106th (1999) and 107th (2000) Congress.
Right to Breastfeed Act (H.R. 1848)
What it does: Ensures a woman's right to breastfeed her child anywhere on Federal property where she and her child are authorized to be.
Status: Enacted into law September, 1999 as part of the Treasury-Postal Appropriations Bill (H.R.2490)[P.L.106-58]
Pregnancy Discrimination Act Amendments of 1999 (H.R. 1478/H.R.3861)
What it does: Clarifies the Pregnancy Discrimination Act to protect breastfeeding under civil rights law, requiring that women cannot be fired or discriminated against in the workplace for expressing (pumping) breastmilk, or breastfeeding during her own lunch time or break time.
Status: Referred to the Education and Workforce Committee
* On March 8th, 2000, H.R. 3861, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act Amendments of 2000, a slightly revised version of H.R. 1478, was reintroduced and referred to the same committee.
Breastfeeding Promotion and Employers' Tax Incentive Act (H.R. 1163)
What it does: Encourages employers to set up a safe, private and sanitary environment for women to express (or pump) breastmilk by providing a tax credit for employers who set up a lactation location, purchase or rent lactation-related equipment, hire a lactation consultant, or otherwise promote a lactation-friendly environment.
Status: Referred to the Ways and Means Committee.
The Breast Pump Safety Act (H.R. 3372)
What it does: Requires the FDA to develop minimum quality standards for breast pumps to ensure that products on the market are safe and effective.
Status: Referred to the Commerce Committee.
Breastfeeding Legislation in the 107th Congress
Breastfeeding Promotion Act (H.R.285)
What it does: Amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to protect breastfeeding by new mothers, provides for a performance standard for breast pumps and provides tax incentives to encourage breastfeeding.
Status: Referred on March 15th, 2001, to House Subcommittee on Employer-Employee Relations.