Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), as amended by the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act (the PUMP Act), most employees who are nursing mothers have the right to reasonable break time and a private place to pump breast milk while at work.

This Fact Sheet summarizes exemptions to the pump at work provisions under the FLSA that apply to certain employees in the transportation industry. Beginning December 29, 2025, certain employees of rail carriers and motorcoach services operators are covered but may be subject to the exemptions discussed below.

ABOUT THE FLSA PUMP AT WORK PROVISIONS

The FLSA establishes minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and child labor standards affecting full-time and part-time employees in the private sector and in federal, state, and local governments. For more information about the FLSA, visit www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/flsa.

Under the FLSA, most employees who are nursing mothers have the right to reasonable break time and a private place at work to pump breast milk for their nursing child (pump breaks). This right is available for up to one year after the child’s birth. An employer may not deny a covered employee a needed break to pump. Nursing employees are entitled to a place to pump, other than a bathroom, that is shielded from view and free from intrusion from coworkers and the public. The location provided must be functional as a space for pumping. For more information about FLSA’s pump at work provisions, see Fact Sheet #73.

Employees who are exempted from the pump at work provisions may be entitled to protections under other laws. For more information about federal and state-level employment protections, see the U.S. Department of Labor Women’s Bureau information page, “Employment Issues Related to Pregnancy, Birth and Nursing.”

AIR CARRIERS

The FLSA’s pump at work provisions do not apply to crewmembers of air carriers. A “crewmember” is a person assigned to perform duty in an aircraft during flight time, including pilots and flight attendants. The pump at work provisions apply normally to all other employees of air carriers.

Examples: 

Gwen is an employee of an air carrier who works in the airport terminal checking passenger tickets and baggage. She does not perform duty in an aircraft during flight time. She is the mother of a five-month-old nursing child. Gwen is entitled to take pump breaks as needed under the FLSA. 

Jewel is a flight attendant who works for an air carrier. As a flight attendant, Jewel works on an aircraft during flight time. She is the mother of a five-month-old nursing child. Jewel is not entitled to take pump breaks under the FLSA. 

RAIL CARRIERS

Rail carriers include employers that provide transportation of goods or people by rail to the public for payment, such as railroad carriers, express companies and refrigerator car companies. Rail carrier employers do not include street, suburban, or interurban electric railways not operated as part of the general system of rail transportation.

Generally, employees of rail carriers are entitled to the pump at work provisions of the FLSA. For some employees of rail carriers an exemption to the FLSA may apply. The exemption only applies if compliance would require the employer to incur significant expense or would result in unsafe conditions for an employee who maintains the right of way. This limited exemption applies on a case-by-case basis to employees who are:

• Members of a train crew involved in the movement of a locomotive or rolling stock, or
• Employees who maintain the right of way of a rail carrier employer.

Examples of “significant expense” include the addition of a member of a train crew in response to providing a pump break to another member of the train crew, the removal or retrofitting of seats, or the modification or retrofitting of a locomotive or rolling stock. It is not considered a significant expense to modify or retrofit a locomotive or rolling stock by installing a curtain or other screening protection.

Example:

Connie works for a rail carrier at a major U.S. port complex as a train crew member involved in the movement of a locomotive. Connie’s train makes round trips throughout her shift moving containers of goods unloaded from ships to a transfer center one hour away. Connie takes pump breaks for her 10-month-old child during the loading and unloading of the train and the employer does not add any employees to the train crew because of Connie’s pump breaks. The employer installs a screen around an area of the train that Connie can use to pump. This area is functional for pumping and is not a bathroom. The screen shields Connie from view while pumping. The employer also provides a lock to secure the screen and a sign for posting to ensure the space used for the pump break is free from intrusion.

In this example, the employer’s compliance does not require significant expense and it does not result in unsafe conditions for any employees who maintain the right of way. Connie is entitled to take pump breaks under the FLSA.

Under the PUMP Act, a member of a train crew may, for purposes of pumping, temporarily obscure the view of a required “image recording device” on a passenger train, as long as the train is not in motion and the crew member ensures that the device is no longer obscured immediately after pumping and before the train resumes operation.

Examples of employers who would not qualify for the exemption include a contractor engaged in laying and grading track and other maintenance of way operations for a rail carrier, an employer engaged exclusively in a pick-up and delivery service under a contract with a rail carrier, and a trucking company, even if wholly owned and controlled by a rail carrier. These employers would not qualify because they are not subject to part A of subtitle IV of title 49 of the U.S. Code.

MOTORCOACH SERVICES OPERATORS

The term “motorcoach services” means passenger transportation by a motorcoach for payment. A motorcoach is a bus with an elevated passenger deck located over a baggage compartment. Motorcoaches are not buses used in public transportation or school buses, including multifunction school activity buses.

Generally, employees of motorcoach services operators are entitled to the pump at work provisions of the FLSA. For some employees of motorcoach services operators who are involved in the movement of a motorcoach, an exemption may apply. The exemption only applies if complying with the pump at work provisions would require the employer to incur significant expense or would result in unsafe conditions for an employee or passenger.

Examples of “significant expense” include the removal or retrofitting of seats, the modification or retrofitting of the motorcoach, or unscheduled stops. It is not considered a significant expense to modify or retrofit a motorcoach by installing a curtain or other screening protection if an employee requests such a curtain or other screening protection, or for an employee to use scheduled stop time to express breast milk.

Example:

Julianna is a bus driver who works for a motorcoach services operator that regularly contracts with cruise ships to transport groups of passengers from a cruise port to local tourist sites and back to the ship’s port. Julianna’s employer provides window coverings and a curtain so she can take a pump break to express milk for her 11-month-old child while passengers are not on the motorcoach. Julianna is permitted to post a sign and lock the motorcoach for brief periods so that she can be shielded from view and the space used for her pump break is free from intrusion.

This schedule meets Julianna’s need for pump breaks. She is entitled to take pump breaks under the FLSA as compliance does not result in a significant expense for the employer or result in unsafe conditions for any employee or passenger. However, if the frequency and duration of Julianna’s pump breaks cannot be met without Julianna making unscheduled stops constituting a significant expense for her employer, the employer may deny Julianna’s pump breaks to the extent that they require Julianna to make unscheduled stops.