Sample Policies for Supporting
Pregnant and Breastfeeding Employees
provides a supportive environment where
employees may express breast milk during work hours. Employees who choose to express breast milk in
the workplace will not be discriminated against in any way.
agrees to the following worksite support
policy. This policy is communicated to all current employees and included in new employee orientations.
Company Responsibilities
Employees who choose to express breast milk when they return to work will receive:
• Reasonable paid or unpaid break time [Required by law]
Employees are allowed to use reasonable unpaid break time and their normal breaks and meal times
to breastfeed or express breast milk during work hours. Employees can use breaks and meal times to
express breast milk for up to three years following childbirth. Each break should be no less than 20
minutes. If the lactation room is located far from the employee’s work station, breaks should be no
less than 30 minutes. For time beyond their usual break times, employees may use personal leave or
may make up the time as agreed upon with their supervisor. (New York State Labor Law 206-c and
Section 7 of the Fair Labor Standard Act)
• Reasonable Eort and Privacy [Required by law]
All businesses must make a reasonable eort to provide a room or other location (not a toilet stall or
restroom) close to the employee’s work area where they can privately breastfeed or express breastmilk.
The private location must be sanitary, contain at minimum a chair and a small table or other at
surface, be well-lit at all times and have a lock or a sign for when the location is in use to ensure
privacy. The location must also have an electrical outlet. The law recommends that employers provide
a space located near a sink with running water so that employees can wash their hands and rinse out
breast pump parts. Employees may also breastfeed or express breast milk in their own private oces
or in other comfortable locations agreed upon with their supervisor. Employees can store their breast
milk in
(New York State Labor Law 206-c and Section 7 of the Fair Labor Standard Act)
• Breastfeeding Equipment [Optional] (Click if accepted and ll in)
electric breast
pumps to help employees express breast milk during work hours. The company provides
until the employee decides to stop expressing breast milk.
Use the below as a reference when revising or creating your company’s
worksite support policy. For your convenience, you can adjust this document
online at nyc.gov/health/BreastfeedingBiz. Please submit your new or
revised policy to nychealthequit[email protected]c.gov.
[Name of company]
[Name of company]
[Select one]
[Name of company]
[Select one]
[Select one]
[If using a standard hospital-grade pump, indicate whether the company provides or subsidizes
a personal attachment kit or where the employee can purchase the kit. Indicate whether breast
pumps are also available for partners of male employees.]
• Education [Optional] (Click if accepted and ll in)
Provide informational materials for parents and partners in the lactation space or area. Include
information on local prenatal and postpartum breastfeeding classes.
• Sta Support [Optional] (Click if accepted and ll in)
It is the ’s responsibility to inform pregnant and
breastfeeding employees about the company’s worksite lactation support program and to negotiate
policies and practices that will help each employee meet their breastfeeding goals. All employees are
expected to assist in providing a positive and supportive atmosphere for breastfeeding employees.
Pregnant employees and new parents also have the right to:
• Reasonable Accommodations [Required by law]
Employees may request accommodations related to pregnancy, childbirth or a related medical
condition. These may include bathroom breaks, assistance with manual labor, minor changes in work
schedule. (Americans with Disabilities Act and New York City Pregnant Workers Fairness Act)
• Cooperative Dialogue [Optional] (Click if accepted and ll in)
engages in cooperative
dialogue with employees to understand and explore ways to meet their individual needs. If
does not provide a specic
accommodation, they will suggest reasonable alternatives to meet the employee’s needs.
• Time O [Required by law]
Employees have the right to time o from work for prenatal appointments and to recover from
medical conditions related to childbirth. (New York City Pregnant Workers Fairness Act and New York
State Paid Family Leave)
Adapted from:
New York State Labor Law 206-c Section 7. Guidelines Regarding the Rights of Nursing Mothers to Express Breast Milk in the Work Place.
Retrieved from https://www.labor.ny.gov/workerprotection/laborstandards/pdfs/guidelinesexpressionofbreastmilknal.pdf. Accessed on
March 29, 2018.
Oce of Women’s Health in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Handling Expressed Milk. Retrieved from https://www.womens
health.gov/breastfeeding/employer-solutions/common-solutions/milk-handling.html. Accessed on March 29, 2018.
Oce on Women’s Health in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Policy for Supporting Breastfeeding Employees.
May 3, 2017. Retrieved from: www.womenshealth.gov/les/assets/docs/breastfeeding/business-case/policy-for-supporting-breastfeeding-
employees.pdf. Accessed on July 10, 2017.
New York City Commission on Human Rights. NYC Commission on Human Rights Legal Enforcement Guidance on Discrimination on the
Basis of Pregnancy: Local Law No. 78 (2013); N.Y.C. Admin. Code § 8-107(22). July 12, 2017. Retrieved from: http://www1.nyc.gov/assets/cchr/
downloads/pdf/publications/Pregnancy_InterpretiveGuide_2016.pdf. Accessed on July 10, 2017.
New York City Oce of the Mayor. Mayor De Blasio Announces Stronger Pregnancy Protections in the Workplace. May 6, 2016. Retrieved from:
http://www1.nyc.gov/oce-of-the-mayor/news/436-16/mayor-de-blasio-stronger-pregnancy-protections-the-workplace-housing-public-spaces.
Accessed on July 12, 2017.
New York City Commission on Human Rights. Pregnancy Employment Poster. July 12, 2017. Retrieved from: https://www1.nyc.gov/site/cchr/
media/posters/pregnancy-employment-rights.page. Accessed on October 31, 2017.
[Select one]
[List other components specific to your company’s program.]
[Name of company]
[Name of company]
