Does Your Company Accommodate New Mothers?
Know your FLSA-mandated lactation accommodations
Posted on 03-28-2019, Read Time: - Min
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Under federal law, new mothers are granted certain rights in the workplace—and that includes access to lactation accommodations. Since young mothers are the fastest growing workforce demographic right now, employer compliance is very much in the spotlight.
As a result, employers should ensure that they’re fulfilling their legal obligations down to the letter. Instituting a formal lactation accommodation policy—and sharing it with your workforce through your employee handbook and elsewhere—will not only help your employees understand how it works, but also help you live up to the terms of your policy.
But it goes beyond that. Instituting an official lactation accommodation policy does more than satisfy yet another government mandate. A strong policy offers tangible advantages that benefit everyone involved—mothers, babies and, yes, employers, too.
Lactation Accommodations Required by Law
Workplace Lactation accommodations were instituted in 2010 under the Affordable Care Act, as outlined in Section 7(r) of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). They apply to employers with 50 or more employees.
Named the “Break Time for Nursing Mothers” provision, this law requires that employers provide breastfeeding employees with “reasonable break time” to pump their breast milk for one year after a child’s birth.
It also mandates that employers provide a private place, “other than a bathroom, that is shielded from view and free from intrusion” for employees to pump.
The FLSA does not define what “reasonable break time” is, but notes that, “the frequency of breaks needed to express milk as well as the duration of each break will likely vary.”
However, the Office of Women’s Health, part of the Department of Health and Human Services, notes that most nursing mothers take two or three 15-20 minute pumping breaks during an eight-hour workday. That adds up to less than one hour of pumping time each day.
The law doesn’t require employers to pay employees during their pumping breaks. However, employers that pay employees for regular breaks are required to compensate employees who use that time to breast pump the same way. Otherwise, they’re liable for discrimination charges. If employees need additional time for pumping that goes beyond paid break times, employers need not pay them for it.
In addition, a number of states have specific lactation accommodation requirements of their own.
Named the “Break Time for Nursing Mothers” provision, this law requires that employers provide breastfeeding employees with “reasonable break time” to pump their breast milk for one year after a child’s birth.
It also mandates that employers provide a private place, “other than a bathroom, that is shielded from view and free from intrusion” for employees to pump.
The FLSA does not define what “reasonable break time” is, but notes that, “the frequency of breaks needed to express milk as well as the duration of each break will likely vary.”
However, the Office of Women’s Health, part of the Department of Health and Human Services, notes that most nursing mothers take two or three 15-20 minute pumping breaks during an eight-hour workday. That adds up to less than one hour of pumping time each day.
The law doesn’t require employers to pay employees during their pumping breaks. However, employers that pay employees for regular breaks are required to compensate employees who use that time to breast pump the same way. Otherwise, they’re liable for discrimination charges. If employees need additional time for pumping that goes beyond paid break times, employers need not pay them for it.
In addition, a number of states have specific lactation accommodation requirements of their own.
Crafting a Well-Defined Lactation Accommodation Policy
Do you already have a lactation accommodation policy in place? That’s a plus—provided it addresses all the following issues:
- What/where the designated lactation space is.
- What the available amenities (chair, outlet, tabletop, etc.) are.
- How employees will schedule use of the space, especially when there are multiple users.
- How employees will schedule pumping breaks with their managers.
- The specific maintenance/clean up responsibilities of users.
- Who will cover for the employee during pumping breaks and how it will be arranged.
- If pumping breaks are paid or unpaid.
- If hourly employees must punch out when they take pumping breaks.
When this is included in the employee handbook and elsewhere, it makes conversations between managers, employees and HR much easier to have as new moms return to work and put the policy to the test.
Creating Internal Procedures
In addition to the above, employers benefit from creating the following internal workflows:
- Your managers’ responsibilities for enforcing your lactation accommodation policy.
- A process for training managers.
- A process for communicating the policy to employees.
- A communication process for managers, HR and nursing employees in the even issues arise.
Benefits Beyond FLSA Compliance
There is evidence that babies and mothers reap a number of proven health benefits from breastfeeding, which is what drove the creation of the Break Time for Nursing Mothers provision in the first place.
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, breastfeeding offers newborns protection against a variety of diseases and health conditions, including infections, diabetes, ear infections and obesity. It also offers mothers greater protection against breast and ovarian cancer, heart disease, diabetes and even depression.
In addition, when employees elect to nurse their babies, employers benefit, too, in the form of:
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, breastfeeding offers newborns protection against a variety of diseases and health conditions, including infections, diabetes, ear infections and obesity. It also offers mothers greater protection against breast and ovarian cancer, heart disease, diabetes and even depression.
In addition, when employees elect to nurse their babies, employers benefit, too, in the form of:
- Health Insurance Savings – Breastfed babies and nursing moms don’t get sick as often—or as seriously—as their formula-fed counterparts. That translates to lower healthcare usage, which in turn keeps premiums down. When CIGNA introduced a corporate lactation program that encouraged breastfeeding, it began saving $240,000 per year in healthcare expenses.
- Lower Absenteeism – Healthier babies mean less missed work-time for their parents. In that same CIGNA study, it was found that the company realized a savings of $60,000 per year due to reduced absenteeism among working mothers.
- Lower Turnover, Greater Retention – Nursing moms who receive support from their employers are more likely to return to work after their babies are born—and stay there. In one study, 94% of employees who worked for companies with strong lactation accommodation policies returned to their company after maternity leave, as opposed to the national average of 59%. In another study, 50% of new mothers who returned to work ended up moving to more family-friendly employers—even when it meant taking a pay cut.
Accommodating working mothers in the workplace isn’t optional; it’s the law. But savvy employers are recognizing that it can be much more than that. Helping working moms succeed at breastfeeding—something 81% of new moms hope to achieve—offers employers significant savings. Furthermore, as the labor market continues to tighten, companies that offer generous lactation accommodation policies may give themselves a hiring edge.
Author Bio
| Michelle Lanter Smith is the Chief Marketing Officer of EPAY Systems. Connect Michelle Lanter Smith Follow @EPAYsystems |
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