New York City employers have long been required to provide employees with reasonable break time to express breast milk (i.e., “pump”) during the workday, and to provide a designated “lactation room” free from intrusion for that purpose.

New York State has now expanded protections for employees statewide. Effective immediately, all New York employers must provide employees with unpaid break time to pump at least every three hours upon request (as opposed to providing “reasonable” break time under New York City law). Employees may also use their break or meal time to express breast milk, and they cannot be required to make up this time.

Employers must also provide a private room or other location for employees to pump. The requirements for a compliant lactation room largely mirror New York City’s requirements – the room must:

1. Not be a restroom or toilet stall;
2. Be close to an employee’s work area;
3. Provide good natural or artificial light;
4. Be private – both shielded from view and free from intrusion;
5. Have accessible, clean running water nearby;
6. Have an electrical outlet (if the workplace is otherwise supplied with electricity);
7. Include a chair; and
8. Provide a desk, small table, counter or other flat surface

The State has also imposed a notice requirement. All New York employers must provide employees with a written policy informing employees of their right to express breast milk in the workplace upon hire and then annually thereafter, as well as when an employee returns from leave following the birth of their child. Employers should include the New York Department of Labor’s policy in their new hire packet and should update their lactation accommodation policy in their employee handbook (or, append New York State’s policy to their employee handbook).

More information on the new New York State law can be found on the New York Department of Labor’s website.

New York State’s new requirements come on the heels of an expansion of the Fair Labor Standards Act’s lactation provisions (known as the “PUMP Act”). The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division has issued an updated FLSA poster that includes “pump at work” rights. Employers – both in New York and beyond – should immediately replace their current “Employee Rights Under the Fair Labor Standards Act” poster with the updated poster. New York employers must also ensure this updated poster is included in its online workplace postings. 

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If you have questions or would like additional information, please contact our Labor & Employment attorneys or the primary EGS attorney with whom you work.