About the PUMP Act
Well, I missed Milky Monday by a day because I was knee-deep in toy decluttering and completely forgot it was Monday. Oops! So, here we are on Tuesday talking about the PUMP Act which passed in Congress last Friday, October 22, 2021.
The bill, S. 1658/ H.R. 3110 Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act, would provide protection for more pumping employees than the 2010 Break Time for Nursing Mothers law which excluded nearly 9 million salaried employees and others.
The Break Time law provided hourly employees the ability to express milk as often as they needed while at work, and required employers to provide a space to pump that was not a bathroom and was free from intrusion from coworkers or the public. Employers with 50 employees or fewer could appeal for “undue hardship,” if meeting the requirements was too hard (which seems ridiculous to me).
The PUMP Act will strengthen the 2010 Break Time law by:
Closing the coverage gap, and including salaried employees and other categories that are currently not covered
Protecting salaried employees from having their pay docked for pump breaks, and clarifying that working pump breaks must be counted as hours worked
Clarifying that if hourly workers are not actually relieved from duty while pumping, then the pump break should be counted as hours worked
Providing protection for employees to express milk for up to two years postpartum instead of one
Ensuring coverage for cases of adoption, surrogacy and stillbirth
Changing the hardship appeal for employers to only apply for employers of 25 or fewer employees
Providing remedies that are available for other violations of the Fair Labor Standard Act if employers violate the act
Ensuring fairness to employers by requiring employees to inform them about inadequate pumping space 10 days before filing suit for violation
This information and so much more is available at http://www.usbreastfeeding.org/p/cm/ld/fid=903
As a lactation consultant, and as a mom who has pumped through college and in the workplace (my oldest and youngest are 10 years apart), this legislation is near and dear to my heart. I have had too many clients call me upset because their employer is forcing them to pump in the bathroom or bullying them for taking their break time. The PUMP Act will make pumping protections very clear and will empower employees to take action if their rights are being violated.
I was very lucky to have an employer with my second child who didn’t bat an eye when I continued to take pump breaks past his first birthday even though it wasn’t required. I hope employers will start to recognize that supporting lactation in the workplace will help keep their best workers happy and on their payroll.
If you’re heading back to work and need help with talking to your employer or setting a pump schedule, contact me and we can set up a virtual visit. I’d love to help you succeed.