Breastfeeding

New federal bill would greater protect breastfeeding employees

August 8, 2011 | by Eric B. Meyer

Rep. Carolyn Maloney [D-NY14] is at it again.

A sponsor of a bill that would greatly expand the scope and reach of the FMLA, Rep. Maloney has co-sponsored another bill, the Breastfeeding Promotion Act of 2011, which would amend both the Fair Labor Standards Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to protect breastfeeding by nursing new mothers.

Under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, which is part of Title VII, it is already illegal to discriminate in the workplace “because of sex” or “on the basis of sex,” which includes, but is not limited to, because of or on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions. The Breastfeeding Promotion Act of 2011 would amend Title VII to explicitly include “lactation.”

Breastfeeding in the workplace: DOL seeks comments

January 24, 2011 | by Eric B. Meyer

Last month, the United States Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division issued a request for public comments on its preliminary interpretations of a new provision of the Fair Labor Standards Act that requires employers to provide nursing mothers with reasonable break time and a private space for expressing breast milk while at work.

For more information about this new requirement for employers, check out some previous posts I did on the subject here and here.

The DOL will accept public comments until Feb. 22, 2011 — via http://www.regulations.gov.

Breastfeeding in the workplace: Is your business compliant?

December 13, 2010 | by Eric B. Meyer

Previously, I wrote (The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, enacted earlier this year, amended the