Lactation Accommodation Policy
No employee will be discriminated against for breastfeeding or expressing milk during the work day and reasonable efforts will be made to assist employees in meeting their infant feeding goals while at work.
Employees who are breastfeeding who choose to continue providing breastmilk to their infants after returning to work will receive the following accommodations for up to three years following the child’s birth:
⦁ Lactation Breaks
Employees will be provided reasonable time to express milk while at work. While employees
are encouraged use their typical break and meal periods when possible, should additional
time be needed beyond the provided breaks, employees may use benefit time or may make
up the time as agreed to with their supervisor.
Employees should notify their supervisor prior to returning to work to set up a schedule that accommodates their needs and those of the College. Once a schedule is agreed upon, every effort to adhere to the schedule must be made.
⦁ Lactation Room(s)
Employees will be provided with a private place, other than a bathroom, that is shielded
from view and free from intrusion from co-workers and students, to express milk. Expressed
milk can be stored in the provided refrigerator or in the employee’s personal cooler.
The space will be:
⦁ Private and sanitary.
⦁ Located in close proximity to the employee’s work station and a sink with running water.
⦁ Equipped with a functional lock.
⦁ Equipped with, at a minimum, an electrical outlet, a comfortable chair and a small table or flat surface.
⦁ College Support
Human Resources will notify employees who are pregnant and those returning to work
following the birth of a child of their rights under New York State Labor Law 206-c
and the national worksite lactation accommodation law in the U.S. Patient Affordable
Care Act. A list of local breastfeeding resources will be provided to employees who
are breastfeeding and returning to work. The College will implement policies and practices
that will help facilitate each employee’s infant feeding goals. It is expected that
all employees will assist in providing a positive atmosphere of support for breastfeeding
employees.
⦁ Employee Responsibilities
Employees who are breastfeeding and who choose to continue providing breastmilk to their infants after returning to work will:
⦁ Communicate with their supervisor – Employees will give their supervisor advanced notice of the need for lactation accommodations, prior to their return to work.
⦁ Maintain lactation rooms – Employees who are breastfeeding will maintain the designated areas by wiping surfaces with antimicrobial wipes so the area is clean for the next user.
⦁ Safely store expressed milk – Employees will label all expressed milk so it is not inadvertently confused with another employee’s milk. Each employee is responsible for proper storage of her milk. Storage guidelines can be provided if requested.
⦁ Use break times to express milk – When more than one employee who is breastfeeding needs to use the designated area, employees can use the sign-in log provided in the room to negotiate expression times that are most convenient to best meet their needs.
Any act found to be intentional that invades a nursing mother’s privacy and rights will be reported and treated as a disciplinary offense.
New York State Labor Law Section 2006-c:
https://labor.ny.gov/formsdocs/wp/LS702.pdf
United States Department of Labor Break Time for Nursing Mothers Section 7 of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA):