Federal Wage & Hour Law Amended To Require Rest Breaks For Nursing Mothers

The federal health care bill signed on March 23, 2010, includes an amendment to the Fair Labor Standards Act that requires all employers to permit an employee to take “reasonable” unpaid break time to express breast milk for nursing her child.  There is no limit to the number of breaks the employee can take during the day for this purpose.  Rather, the employer must permit the breaks “each time such employee has need to express the milk.”  Employers must permit the employee to take the needed breaks for up to one year following the birth of the child.  Employers must also provide a place, other than a bathroom, that is shielded from view and free from intrusion from co-workers and the public to be used for this purpose.  Small businesses (those with less than 50 employees) do not have to provide the breaks if to do so would impose an undue hardship by causing the employer significant difficulty or expense when considered in relation to the size, financial resources, nature, and structure of the business.

Tennessee workplaces have been subject to a similar state requirement for several years.  Under the state requirement, any Tennessee employer, regardless of size, did not have to provide the breaks if to do so would “unduly disrupt operations”.  Under the new federal requirement, however, the undue hardship exception is now available only to employers with less than 50 employees.

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