Lactation Accommodation
Starting June 19, 2024, employers must provide 30 minutes of paid break time for employees to express breast milk for their nursing child each time they reasonably need to—for up to three years following the birth of the child. Employers are also required to allow employees to utilize existing paid breaks or mealtimes for any duration beyond the 30 minutes each time they need to express milk.
Action Items
- Update your lactation break policy to reflect these changes by the law’s effective date.
- Post the updated version of the Policy on the Rights of Employees to Express Breast Milk in the Workplace poster when it becomes available.
- Educate your managers on this new entitlement.
Sunset of COVID-19 Sick Leave
The COVID-19 sick leave provisions enacted in 2020, which mandate sick leave and other benefits for employees under quarantine orders due to COVID-19, will expire on July 31, 2025. This means employers don’t have to provide COVID-19 sick leave (and can remove any applicable policies they have) after that date.