Lactation Accommodations: US

This Lactation Accommodations policy helps your organization comply with the federal PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act (which amended the Fair Labor Standards Act), including providing reasonable break time and a private space that's not a bathroom for employees to express breast milk at work. A clear, employee-friendly policy also reduces day-to-day friction by setting expectations for how breaks are coordinated, what spaces are available, and how milk storage works, while leaving room to adjust for individual needs and operational realities.

The History Behind Lactation Accommodations Policies at the Federal Level

Lactation accommodations became a mainstream Workplace Accommodations issue after a long stretch where many nursing employees had to just "figure it out" at work. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) set the baseline for federal wage and hour rules, but it did not originally consider pumping breaks or private spaces. Employers started seeing more formal expectations through state laws and through discrimination claims under Title VII as amended by the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, where courts and the EEOC treated lactation-related mistreatment as a form of sex discrimination in many fact patterns. That mix of legal theories pushed more HR teams to treat pumping needs like a real workplace access issue, not a personal favor.

Congress made the first big federal move in 2010, when the Affordable Care Act amended the FLSA to require reasonable break time and a private place (not a bathroom) for non-exempt employees to express breast milk for one year after a child's birth. The rule came with a small-employer undue hardship exception, and it left gaps for exempt employees and for some workplaces that did not fit neatly into the coverage rules. The Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division then began enforcing the requirement, and employers learned quickly that "private" and "available when needed" really mattered.

The next shift came with the PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act, signed in 2022, which expanded FLSA protections to cover more employees and strengthened remedies for violations. The law also clarified how the space requirement works in practice, including that the location must be shielded from view and free from intrusion. By that point, many industries had already moved toward dedicated lactation rooms and scheduling norms because multi-site operations, hybrid work, and shared workspaces made ad hoc solutions messy and risky. The federal floor is now clearer, and a written policy has become the cleanest way to keep practices consistent across roles, locations, and managers.

Which Law is the Lactation Accommodations Policy Meant to Comply With?

If you create and distribute a Lactation Accommodations Policy for your US-based employees, it is in an effort to comply with the federal Providing Urgent Maternal Protections (PUMP) for Nursing Mothers Act, which amended the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), and any related state laws.

How to Write a US-Specific Lactation Accommodations Policy

• Start with "why" and introduce the concept by stating your organization supports nursing employees with lactation accommodations.
• State that employees can take reasonable break time to express milk during the workday.
• Explain that your organization will provide access to a private lactation space near the work area that is not a restroom.
• Encourage employees to align lactation breaks with existing meal or rest periods when practical.
• Describe how expressed milk may be stored, including shared refrigeration or a personal cooler.
• Require clear labeling of stored milk containers to prevent mix-ups.
• Note that break frequency and duration can vary based on individual needs.
• Include an undue hardship exception and commit to exploring alternative compliant solutions.

When to Include this Policy in Your Employee Handbook

The law does not require you to publish a policy or issue a specific notice. That said, you still have to comply with the requirements that apply to you as an employer. 

Even when notice is not required, this is still the kind of policy most employers should put in their handbook or otherwise publish to employees. It answers a question employees will ask, sets expectations, and gives managers a consistent script. If you do not include it, you will end up explaining it ad hoc, and that is when inconsistency, resentment, and accidental noncompliance shows up. 

Other Considerations

The law applies to US employers who have at least 1 employee in the US. "Undue hardship" exemptions may apply for organizations with fewer than 50 employees (see below).

Exceptions

If providing these accommodations would result in a verifiable "undue hardship", these legal requirements don't apply. This applies to employers with fewer than 50 employees, when providing break time and/or a compliant lactation space would impose a significant difficulty or expense in light of the employer's size, financial resources, nature, or structure.

Check with state law, as the requirements in your state may differ.