News

Am I Entitled To More Breaks As A Nursing Employee?

If you have come from maternity leave, you may be wondering whether your employer will offer you additional breaks to continue nursing your baby. As a nursing employee, you may be asking whether you have to use your lunch breaks to pump. Employee lunch breaks can be used for such purposes, but this is up to an individual. In California, all nursing employees have the right to be provided with breaks to express milk throughout the day. Nevertheless, one cannot breastfeed the child at work. But if the employer is able to provide on-site childcare facilities, nursing mothers can breastfeed during their breaks. The reason is that; every employee is entitled to have rest and meal breaks.
  Who Is Covered For Reasonable Breaks?
 Any nursing mothers working in California need to know how the State law protects them. Those workers whose employers are covered under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and are not exempt from their overtime pay requirements are entitled to breaks for expressing milk. Though employers who are not covered under such are not required to give such breaks, the state laws mandate them to provide such breaks. Again, those employers with less than 50 workers are not required to provide the breaks if it’s deemed to cause undue hardship.
What You Need To Know As A Nursing Employee
According to federal and state law in California, the employee must have mandatory breaks to express milk. Thus employers have responsibilities to see that the nursing employers continue to do so even after returning to work. The law requires that these employees be provided with:
· Reasonable unpaid break: Nursing employees get a reasonable amount of time to express milk. There is no set time that a nursing employee should take, but an employee may choose to use their lunch or rest breaks to nurse. Although the law provides for reasonable breaks, they are not to be paid.
· Adequate facilities for expressing milk: An employer should provide a private room or space other than washrooms to allow a nursing employee to pump. The private room should be free from other employees or members of the public. Again, there is no law stating the time limit for a mother to do this.
· No retaliation: No employer should discriminate or retaliate against a nursing employee because they have requested for such time.
 Nevertheless, employers are obligated to provide additional unpaid break time if it’s deemed necessary. But if allowing for the additional breaks may disrupt the business, an employer is not obligated to comply with the law. The law requires that if a nursing mother is not entirely relieved of their duties, then that time must be compensated for the same way as other employees.
 Talk To An Employment Lawyer
  Employers who take negative actions against nursing mothers who request additional time to express milk should face the law. If you’re a nursing mother who feels that your employer denied you adequate time to pump, you can talk to the human resource department to have your issues discussed. If this seems unsuccessful, you may speak to an employment lawyer to know your rights and responsibilities.

Contact Our

Consumer Protection & Employment Law Attorneys

    Why Consumers and Employees Choose Us

    We Give Individualized Attention To All Of Our Clients

    We Are An Experienced Law Firm With 7 Figure Recoveries

    We Focus On Consumer & Employment Law To Protect You

    About Our Consumer Protection
    & Employment Law Firm

    Based in Southern California’s Beverly Hills, we serve clients throughout the United States. We focus on employment and consumer class actions in California. Your rights should be protected. We at CounselOne are committed to securing what you are rightfully due.

    Our employment law attorneys in California handle most cases on a contingency basis. That means you don’t pay us a cent until we recover compensation for you. We have won millions of dollars in compensation for our clients, achieving recognition for our superior representation in the process.

    At CounselOne, we believe that our clients deserve nothing less than the most aggressive, solution-oriented representation. Our experienced and expert employment law attorney California ensure that your case will always be in good hands.