Lactation Accommodations are Now Mandatory in Baltimore City

Baltimore City employers with two or more full-time equivalent employees are now required to provide lactation accommodations for breastfeeding employees -- including a reasonable break period and location to breastfeed or express breast milk.

If possible, the break time must occur during any required paid break time or break time already provided by the employer. If no such paid break time exists, the lactation break period can be an unpaid break. These strict requirements govern the location where the lactation break can occur:

• The location must be somewhere other than a bathroom or closet;
• The location must be safe, clean and free of toxic or hazardous materials; and
• The location must be much have limited access to it by a door that can be locked from the inside and contain a surface on which to place a breast pump and other personal items, a place to sit and at least one electrical outlet and must be in close proximity to the employee’s work area with a sink with running hot and cold water and a refrigerator in which the employee can store breast milk.

The area may be a multi-use area if, throughout the period of an employee’s need to express milk, the primary function of the location is its use as a lactation location, that function takes precedence over all other uses and the employer provides notice to all other employees who may need that area.

Baltimore City's new law corresponds with a similar Maryland state law that provides protections for nursing mothers employed by the State of Maryland. Under the new nursing-break law, Maryland is required to provide nursing mothers with reasonable break time to express breast milk for a nursing child after the child’s birth each time the employee needs to express the milk. The state law also requires that employers, on notice, provide nursing mothers a place to express milk, other than a bathroom, that is shielded from view and free from coworkers.

The federal Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), the federal law governing the payment of minimum wages and overtime wages, also provides protections for nursing mothers. Similar to the Maryland law, the FLSA requires employers to provide “reasonable break time for an employee to express breast milk for her nursing child for 1 year after the child’s birth each time such employee has need to express the milk.” Employers are also required to provide “a place, other than a bathroom, that is shielded from view and free from intrusion from coworkers and the public, which may be used by an employee to express breast milk.”  More information on the nursing requirements under the FLSA is available here.

These laws provide important protections to employees in Maryland who are nursing. If you are seeking advice, assistance or representation in an employment case involving nursing, Lebau & Neuworth may be able to help you. Contact Lebau & Neuworth at (410) 296-3030 or lebauneuworth.com/contact-us.