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The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires employers to provide reasonable break time for an employee to express breast milk for their nursing child for one year after the child's birth each time such employee has need to express the milk. Employees are entitled to a place to pump at work, other than a bathroom, that is shielded from view and free from intrusion from coworkers and the public.
On December 29, 2022, President Biden signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 into law. The law includes the PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act (“PUMP Act”), which extends to more nursing employees the rights to receive break time to pump and a private place to pump at work and may impact some of the other information provided below.
Resources for Workers, Employers and Advocates
- Pump at work flyer large
- Pump at work employee rights card small
- Pump at work door hanger
- FLSA poster with PUMP Act
- How to File a Complaint
General Guidance
- WHD Fact Sheet #73: FLSA Protections for Employees to Pump at Work
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): FLSA Protections to Pump at Work
- Field Assistance Bulletin (FAB) 2023-2: Enforcement of Protections for Employees to Pump at Work
- Presentation: Pump at Work Protections under the Fair Labor Standards Act
- Maternal Health: What to Expect from Your Employer When You’re Expecting
The PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act Webinar Series
PUMP at Work Protections under the Fair Labor Standards Act (Recording)
PUMP at Work Protections in the Agriculture Industry (Recording)
PUMP Agriculture Industry Presentation
PUMP Agriculture Industry FAQs
PUMP at Work Protections in the Agriculture Industry (Spanish) (Recording)
PUMP Agriculture Industry Presentation (Spanish)
PUMP Agriculture Industry FAQs (Spanish)
PUMP at Work Protections under the Fair Labor Standards Act in the Agriculture Industry
Tuesday, September 26, 2023 from 2 -3 p.m. ET
PUMP at Work Protections under the Fair Labor Standards Act in the Retail and Restaurant Industry
Thursday, October 19, 2023 from 2 -3 p.m. ET
PUMP at Work Protections under the Fair Labor Standards Act in the Care Worker Industry
Wednesday, November 15, 2023 from 2 -3 p.m. ET
PUMP at Work Protections under the Fair Labor Standards Act in the Transportation Industry
Wednesday, January 24th, 2024 from 3 -4 p.m. ET
Additional Information
- Employment Protections for Workers Who are Pregnant or Nursing
- Women's Bureau flyer: Nursing Employee Workplace Protections
- OPM Guidance on Nursing Mothers in the Federal Workforce
- OPM Guidance on Establishing a Federal Nursing Mother’s Program
- Employer Solutions: Supporting Nursing Moms at Work
- CDC Healthier Worksite Initiative, Workplace Lactation Support Program Toolkit
- EEOC Enforcement Guidance: Unlawful Disparate Treatment of Workers with Caregiving Responsibilities
- EEOC and WHD flyer: Federal Protections at Work
- National Conference of State Legislatures Compilation of State Breastfeeding Laws
- Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Support Breastfeeding
Applicable Laws
- Fair Labor Standards Act § 18d (as amended by the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act, P.L 117-328)
- Pump for Nursing Mothers Act, Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023
- PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act - December 2022