Senator Simpson’s SB 219 with respect to lactation support in the workplace passed the House without amendments and by a vote of 90 – 3.
It requires state and local government to provide for reasonable paid breaks for an employee to express breast milk for the employee’s infant child; to make reasonable efforts to provide a room or other location in close proximity to the work area where the employee can express the employee’s breast milk in privacy; and to make reasonable efforts to provide for a refrigerator or other cold storage for keeping breast milk that has been expressed.
Non-government employers that employ 25 or more individuals, to the extent reasonably possible, must provide a private location for an employee to express the employee’s breast milk during any period away from the employee’s assigned duties; and a refrigerator or other cold storage space, or allow the employee to provide the employee’s own portable storage device, for keeping the expressed milk until the end of the employee’s work day.
Exempts an employer from liability except in case of willful misconduct, gross negligence, or bad faith, for any harm arising from the expressing of an employee’s breast milk; or the storage of expressed milk; on the employer’s premises.
WITHOUT AMENDMENTS?!?!
Surely breast milk has something in common with homosexuality, time zones, property taxes, or illegal immigrants.
I’m disappointed that our lawmakers didn’t take the time on this one to think through all of the connections.
/sarcasm
Great bill. Too many people see this as something “gross”, and I think there has been a serious lack of understanding by many employers.
I continue to be surprised by the disconnected state of reality (I had no clue this was even an issue any more).
Interesting trivia fact (corraborated by multiple sources including Mayo Clinic): breast milk can be stored at room temperature for up to 10 hours. Is the refrigerator really needed?
I thought I remember hearing that was OK as long as you didn’t later freeze / chill it. So I guess it would be OK for the first few feedings after work, the 3:00am feeding from 3:00pm’s expression would be the need for a fridge.
My wife expressed her milk with our first child. She used to have to do that in a bathroom stall; as her office door had a window. I used to kid her that people probably walked into the bathroom and thought she was doing something else; given the sound of the motor;-)
I’m strongly in favor of breast feeding – but I’m not keen on this being a government mandate.
This entry would have been more fun if it had been entitled “Breast Milk: Not Just for Children Anymore”.
Or, “Catch that Papsy Spirit…”
(with apologies to Pepsi)