You are covered under the federal Break Time for Nursing Mothers law if you are also covered by Section 7 of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). FLSA is the federal law that establishes the federal minimum hourly wage and the requirement to pay overtime when you work more than 40 hours in a week. FLSA applies to most hourly employees. If you don’t know whether you’re covered under FLSA, ask your supervisor or human resources manager. Also, every employer who must follow FLSA must post a notice in the workplace about the federal minimum wage. This notice also has information about the Break Time for Nursing Mothers law on it.

The Break Time for Nursing Mothers law requires FLSA employers to provide break time for women to express milk and a functional space that is not a bathroom each time they need to express.

Many employers provide these lactation benefits to any nursing mother at the workplace, regardless of coverage under FLSA.

Don’t be shy about talking with your supervisor about your needs. Most employers want to meet the needs of their employees. But not all employers are familiar with the needs of a breastfeeding mom. If your workplace does not have a lactation support policy, the company may benefit from seeing examples of success stories to help make arrangements for a lactation space. Start the conversation during your pregnancy, before you go on maternity leave. This will give your supervisor time to make arrangements and educate your coworkers about pumping breaks.

The law does not require employers to pay women for breaks needed to express milk. However, the law says that if paid breaks are provided to all employees, then those breaks must continue to be paid if nursing moms use them to pump at work. If you need extra time beyond the standard paid break time, your employer might not pay you for that extra time. But if you’re covered under FLSA, your employer is required to give you the unpaid break time you need to express milk.

Ask your human resources manager or supervisor if you have questions about time spent expressing milk at work.

FLSA requires most employers to provide reasonable break time and space that is not a bathroom for breastfeeding employees to express milk at work. However, the lactation space does not have to be a permanent, dedicated room just for breastfeeding moms. The space can be temporarily used for pumping if it can fit a chair and a flat surface for pumping equipment and can be locked or otherwise made private. Not all lactation areas are ideal, but the space should be safe and clean and have a light so you can see while pumping.

If you are covered under FLSA but your employer is not providing the break time or private lactation space you are entitled to, you can:

• Talk to your human resources manager or supervisor. Learn more about how to talk to your supervisor.
• Show your manager or supervisor one of these short videos on how different types of workplaces provide time and space for lactation.
• File a complaint with the U.S. Department of Labor. You can also see what employers are required by law to do for nursing mothers.