Breastfeeding Rights at Work: What NY Employers Must Provide

If you are a nursing employee returning to work in New York, the law gives you significant protections, including paid break time, a private space, and freedom from discrimination. As of June 19, 2024, New York’s lactation accommodation law became one of the strongest in the country.

Many employers, however, still fail to comply. Some refuse to provide a clean private space. Some pressure mothers to use a bathroom! Some retaliate against employees who request accommodations.

If your employer is denying you what the law requires, you have rights. At Megan Thomas Law, PLLC, we help New York mothers hold employers accountable when they violate workplace lactation laws.

What New York Law Requires

New York Labor Law § 206-c sets the standard for lactation accommodations in the workplace. Here is what every employer in the state must provide:

Paid Break Time

Effective June 19, 2024, all New York employers must provide 30 minutes of paid break time each time a nursing employee has a reasonable need to express breast milk. This applies for up to three years following childbirth.

This paid break time is in addition to, not instead of, your existing meal and break time. Your employer cannot require you to use your lunch break or stay late to make up the time. We see employers attempt to do this a lot.

If you need more than 30 minutes for a single pumping session, your employer must allow you to use existing paid break time or meal time to extend it.

A Private Lactation Space

Your employer must provide a private room or space that includes:

• A chair.
• A working surface.
• Nearby access to clean running water.
• An electrical outlet (if the workplace has electricity).
• Close proximity to the work area.
• Light.
• Privacy from view.
• No intrusion.

A bathroom does not count. The space must be functional, reasonably comfortable, and dedicated to lactation when an employee needs it.

If the space is not solely dedicated to lactation, your employer must make it available whenever you have a reasonable need to use it, and notify all employees that the space has been designated for lactation use.

Refrigeration

If your employer has access to refrigeration, you must be allowed to store expressed breast milk there.

Written Notice and Policy

Your employer must give you a copy of the New York State Department of Labor’s Policy on the Rights of Employees to Express Breast Milk in the Workplace when you start work, annually thereafter, and when you return from leave following the birth of a child.

Frequency of Breaks

The Department of Labor’s earlier guidance under the unpaid break version of the law indicated that nursing employees can take breaks at least once every three hours to pump. The current law does not set a strict cap, and the number of breaks depends on your individual, reasonable needs.

How New York Compares to Federal Law

The federal PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act, passed in 2022, gives most nursing employees the right to reasonable break time and a private space (other than a bathroom) for one year after a child’s birth. Federal law does not require that the breaks be paid. Employers covered by the Pump Act may not have to comply if they have fewer than 50 employees and can demonstrate that compliance with the Act would pose an undue hardship to the employer.

New York law is significantly more generous in three ways:

1. Longer coverage period: New York protects nursing mothers for three years, not one.
2. Paid breaks: Up to 30 minutes paid for each pumping session.
3. Universal application: Every employer in the state, regardless of size, must comply.

What Counts as a Violation?

Your employer may be breaking the law if any of the following are happening to you:

• You are denied paid break time to pump.
• You are forced to use the bathroom or another non-private space.
• The lactation room lacks the required features (chair, water, outlet, privacy).
• You are pressured to stay late or come in early to make up time spent pumping.
• Your manager makes negative comments about your need to pump.
• You are denied a promotion, transferred, or treated differently because of your nursing status.
• You are fired or pushed out after requesting accommodations.

Lactation Discrimination and Retaliation

It is illegal under New York law for an employer to discriminate or retaliate against an employee who chooses to express breast milk at work.

Retaliation can take many forms, including:

• Termination after requesting accommodations.
• Demotion or transfer to a less desirable role.
• Negative performance reviews after years of positive ones.
• Schedule changes designed to make pumping difficult.
• Hostile comments from supervisors or coworkers that management ignores.
• Being denied opportunities for advancement.

Lactation discrimination is also a form of pregnancy discrimination under the New York State Human Rights Law, which means you may have multiple legal options.

Who Is Covered?

The protections under New York Labor Law § 206-c apply to all employees in the state, regardless of:

• Employer size (even single-employee employers must comply).
• Industry.
• Full-time or part-time status.
• Whether the employee works remotely or on-site.

If you work for a New York employer, you are covered.

What If My Employer Refuses?

If your employer is denying you the protections required by law, do not wait until things get worse. Take these steps:

1. Make your request in writing. A short email asking for the accommodations you need creates a paper trail.
2. Save the response. Whether the employer agrees, denies, or ignores you, keep the record.
3. Document specific incidents. Note dates, times, who said what, and any witnesses.
4. Save evidence of harm. If you missed pumping sessions, suffered physically, or had to stop nursing earlier than planned, document it.
5. Talk to an attorney before filing. We strongly recommend speaking with an experienced employment attorney before filing a complaint with any government agency, as long as there are no statute of limitations issues.

Why You Should Talk to an Attorney Before Filing

Megan has seen well-intentioned employees seriously hurt their cases by filing on their own with the Department of Labor or the Division of Human Rights. Once you file, you commit to a process and a record that cannot easily be undone. If there are no statute of limitations issues, call a plaintiff’s employment attorney before filing.

A short consultation with an attorney can:

• Identify which laws give you the strongest claim.
• Help you choose the right forum.
• Preserve your ability to recover the full damages you deserve.
• Position you to negotiate a settlement before formal proceedings.
• Protect you from retaliation while your case moves forward.

There is rarely a downside to consulting an attorney first, and there is often significant downside to filing alone.

What You Can Recover

When an employer violates New York lactation laws, you may be entitled to:

• Lost wages (if you were forced to take unpaid time, demoted, or terminated).
• Compensation for emotional distress.
• Costs of finding new employment.
• Punitive damages in cases of willful violation.
• Reinstatement if you were wrongfully terminated.
• Policy changes at your workplace.

You Should Not Have to Choose Between Your Career and Your Child

New York gave nursing mothers some of the strongest workplace protections in the country because no parent should have to sacrifice their child’s nutrition for their job. If your employer is not following the law, you do not have to accept it.

At Megan Thomas Law, PLLC, we represent women across New York whose employers failed to provide the accommodations they are legally required to give. We never represent corporations.

Talk to Megan Thomas Law today. You and your child deserve better.

*The information provided in this post is for general informational purposes only and is not intended as legal advice. Viewing this post, commenting, or engaging with it does not create an attorney-client relationship.