Lactation Accommodations: Baltimore, Maryland

This Lactation Accommodations policy applies to employees in Baltimore, Maryland under the Baltimore City Code, Article 11, Division II, Subtitle 16 (Lactation Accommodations) and explains how your organization will provide reasonable break time and a private, compliant space for expressing breast milk, how employees can request an accommodation and when you'll respond, and what happens if you can't provide breaks or a suitable location, including the required written explanation and the option to file a complaint with the Baltimore Community Relations Commission.

The History Behind Lactation Accommodations Policies in Baltimore, Maryland

Workplace Accommodations for nursing mothers started as a practical workplace problem that too many employers treated like a personal issue. For years, federal law did not clearly require break time and a private space for hourly workers to pump at work, so outcomes depended on a manager's goodwill and whatever space happened to be available. That began to change in 2010 when Congress amended the Fair Labor Standards Act through the Affordable Care Act to require reasonable break time and a place, other than a bathroom, for non-exempt employees to express breast milk for up to one year after childbirth. Courts then spent the next decade sorting out what that meant in real workplaces, including whether lactation-related needs could qualify as pregnancy-related conditions under anti-discrimination laws.

Maryland layered on more expectations through state anti-discrimination protections and enforcement activity that treated pregnancy, childbirth, and related conditions as workplace issues that require real accommodations. Baltimore City then went further by adopting a local lactation accommodations law that pushes employers to provide a usable space near the work area, to respond to requests on a short timeline, and to put denials in writing when accommodations are not possible or when a waiver or variance is requested. That structure matters because it forces consistency and creates a paper trail.

Then the federal floor moved again with the PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act, which expanded the FLSA break time and space protections to cover many more employees than the original 2010 rule, and strengthened the enforcement path when employers fail to provide a compliant space. A Baltimore employer still often needs a localized version because Baltimore's law is not just "provide breaks and a room." It adds process requirements that federal law does not emphasize, like proximity to the work area, quicker response expectations, and written denials tied to a waiver or variance process. In other words, a federal compliant policy can still miss what Baltimore expects operationally, and that is exactly how routine requests turn into avoidable complaints.

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

If you create and distribute a Lactation Accommodations Policy for your Baltimore, Maryland-based employees, it is in an effort to comply with Baltimore, Maryland's Baltimore City Code, Article 11, Division II, Subtitle 16.

How to Write a Baltimore, Maryland-Specific Lactation Accommodations Policy

• Start with "why" and introduce the concept of supporting lactating employees in Baltimore with break time to express breast milk.
• Explain how lactation breaks interact with paid breaks and when break time may be unpaid.
• Describe the required lactation space standards, including privacy and that it can't be a bathroom or closet.
• List the core room features and amenities the space must include for pumping and milk storage.
• State that employees have a right to request lactation accommodations and provide a clear way to make a request.
• Include a non-retaliation rule for anyone who requests or uses lactation accommodations.
• Commit to providing written reasons when your organization can't provide compliant breaks or a compliant space.
• Provide a complaint option and identify the local agency employees can contact if they believe their rights were violated.

When to Include this Policy in Your Employee Handbook

If you have employees in Baltimore, Maryland and you don't have a similar policy that's available for all US employees, you should include this policy in your employee handbook for Baltimore, Maryland-based employees. 

§ 16-20 states: 

(a) In general.

Each employer subject to this subtitle must develop and implement a written lactation accommodation policy.

(b) Minimum contents.

The written policy must:

1. contain a statement that employees have a legal right to request a lactation accommodation;
2. include the employer's process for requesting a lactation accommodation, which process must, at a minimum:
   1. specify the means by which an employee must submit the request to the employer;
   2. require the employer to respond to the request within 5 business days; and
   3. require the employer and employee to engage in an interactive process to determine lactation break periods and a lactation location appropriate for the employee;
3. state that, whenever the employer does not provide lactation breaks or a lactation location, or provides a lactation location that does not fully comply with Part 2 of this subtitle, or asserts any waiver or variance granted under § 16-14 {"Waiver or variance for undue hardship"} of this subtitle, the employer will be required to describe, in a written response to the request, the specific bases on which the employer has done so;
4. state that any employee aggrieved by an alleged violation of this subtitle may file a complaint with the Baltimore Community Relations Commission; and
5. state that retaliation against an employee for exercising the rights conferred by this subtitle is prohibited.

 (c) Employer to keep copies of all responses.

The employer must retain, in accordance with § 16-21 {"Employer records"} of this subtitle, a copy of all written responses made under the policy required by subsection (b)(3) of this section.

(d) Distribution of policy.

(1) The employer must distribute a copy of the employer's lactation accommodation policy to all employees upon their hiring; and again, within 10 calendar days of any modification to the policy.

 

(2) The employer must also offer a copy of the lactation accommodation policy to any employee who requests or inquires about pregnancy or parental leave.

 

(3) If the employer has an employee handbook or set of policies that is available to employees, the lactation accommodation policy must be included in that handbook or set of policies.

So it's a good idea to have this in your employee handbook!

Other Considerations

The law applies to Baltimore, Maryland employers who have at least 2 employees working in Baltimore.

Exceptions

None