Employers must provide a reasonable amount of break time to express breast milk. The break times should, if possible, run concurrently with any break times already provided to the employee.
If the lactation break time does not run concurrently with rest break times required under state law, the lactation break time is unpaid. In other words, lactation breaks that extend beyond an employee’s normal break periods may be unpaid.
Employers must pay employees during lactation breaks if:
California law does not contain a specific requirement as to the length of lactation breaks. However, the California DOL has opined that:
Employers must provide a private location, other than a bathroom, which is shielded from view, free from intrusion and in close proximity to the employee’s work area, to express breast milk. The location may include the place where the employee normally works if it otherwise meets the requirements above.
The lactation location must:
Employers must also provide access to a sink with running water and a refrigerator suitable for storing milk in close proximity to the employee’s workspace.
An employer with fewer than 50 employees may be exempt from any of the lactation location requirements if it can demonstrate that the requirement would impose an undue hardship by causing the employer significant difficulty or expense when considered in relation to the size, financial resources, nature, or structure of the employer’s business.
The information contained on this page is for informational purposes only.
It does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice.