Section 4207 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) entitled “Reasonable Break Time For Nursing Mothers,” amends Section 7 of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and requires employers to provide:
- “a reasonable break time for an employee to express breast milk for her nursing child for 1 year after the child’s birth each time such employee has need to express the milk,” and
- “a place, other than a bathroom, that is shielded from view and free from intrusion from coworkers and the public, which may be used by an employee to express breast milk.”
The reasonable break time taken under 4207 does not have to be paid, and employers with less than 50 employees are excluded from the requirements of Section 4207 “if such requirements would impose an undue hardship by causing the employer significant difficulty or expense when considered in relation to the size, financial resources, nature or structure of the employer’s business.”
Employers must also comply with any related state laws providing for greater rights than Section 4207 of the PPACA. For example, New York state law requires employers to provide reasonable break time for an employee to express breast milk for her nursing child for up to three (3) years following child birth.