A bipartisan, bicameral bill proposed by U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) to provide space and time for hourly employees to pump and store breast milk at work became law as part of a $1.7 trillion government funding package signed into law on Dec. 29 by President Joe Biden.
“The health benefits of breastfeeding are without question. What has been a question is a women’s protection at the job site to pump safely,” Sen. Murkowski said. “If a mother chooses to breastfeed her baby, she deserves the legal protection to do so without having to worry about it impacting her career.”
The Providing Urgent Maternal Protections (PUMP) for Nursing Mothers Act, S. 1658/H.R. 3110, was introduced in May 2021 by Sen. Murkowski and U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) in their chamber, and by U.S. Reps. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) and Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-NY) in the U.S. House.
Specifically, the bill expands the requirement that employers provide certain accommodations for such an employee to cover salaried employees and other types of workers not covered under existing law and dictates that time spent to express breast milk must be considered hours worked if the employee is also working, according to the congressional record bill summary.
Additionally, the PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act extends from one year to two years the available time period for such accommodations. The bill also provides that before making a claim of liability against an employer, an employee generally must first notify the employer that they are not in compliance with the new law and provide them with 10 days to come into compliance with the required accommodations, the summary says.
“With this bill, parents will be empowered to make their own choices on breastfeeding, and businesses can improve retention of valuable employees,” Sen. Merkley said. “It’s a win-win-win.”
The PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act was included in the Consolidated Appropriations Act for 2023, H.R. 2617, the $1.7 trillion omnibus appropriations bill passed on Dec. 22 and 23 by the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives, respectively. President Joe Biden on Dec. 29 signed the spending package into law.