About the Law

On December 29, 2022, President Biden signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, into law. The law includes the PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act (“PUMP Act”), which extends to more nursing employees the rights to receive break time to pump and a private place to pump at work and may impact some of the other information provided below. Under the PUMP Act, most nursing employees have the right to reasonable break time and a place, other than a bathroom, that is shielded from view and free from intrusion to express breast milk while at work. This right is available for up to one year after the child’s birth.

WHD Fact Sheet #73 and the Frequently Asked Questions below provide basic information about the law.

Questions & Answers

How do I know if federal pump at work requirements apply to me and if I have a right to take pump breaks at work?

Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), most employees have the right to reasonable break time and a private place to pump breast milk for their nursing child. Specifically, covered employers are required to provide reasonable break time for an employee to express breast milk for their nursing child each time such employee has need to express the milk for one year after the child’s birth. For more information about FLSA coverage, see Fact Sheet #14.

Employees are entitled to a place to pump at work, other than a bathroom, that is shielded from view and free from intrusion from coworkers and the public.

Certain employees of airlines, railroads, and motorcoach carriers are exempt from the pump at work protections of the FLSA. For more information about these exemptions, see Field Assistance Bulletin No. 2023-2.

Employees who are exempted may be entitled to break time and/or space protections under other laws. For more information about federal and state-level employment protections, see the U.S. Department of Labor’s Women’s Bureau information page, “Employment Issues Related to Pregnancy, Birth and Nursing.”

What must an employer provide to workers who need to express breast milk in the workplace?

Employers are required to provide a reasonable amount of break time and a space to express milk as frequently as needed by the nursing employee, for up to one year following the birth of the employee’s child. The frequency of breaks needed to express breast milk as well as the duration of each break will likely vary. The space provided by the employer cannot be a bathroom and it must be shielded from view and free from intrusion by coworkers or the public.

What types of employers are covered by the law?

All employers covered by the FLSA must comply with the pump at work provisions of the FLSA and nearly all FLSA-covered employees have the right to take needed time and to access an appropriate private space to express breast milk for a nursing child for up to one year after the child’s birth. In some narrow cases, certain small business and transportation employers may not be required to provide space or time for employees to pump at work. See Wage and Hour Division Fact Sheet 73 for more general information on the pump at work provisions.

Does the PUMP Act apply to people who work for non-profit organizations?

Yes, in some cases. If the non-profit organization is covered by the FLSA or the individual employee is covered by the FLSA, then the pump at work protections generally apply.

The FLSA generally applies to (“covers”) workers employed by businesses with annual gross volume of sales made or business done of at least $500,000. Non-profit charitable organizations are not covered enterprises under the FLSA unless they engage in ordinary commercial activities that result in $500,000 in sales made or business done, such as operating a gift shop or providing veterinary services for a fee.

However, workers that are not covered by the FLSA on an enterprise basis, including non-profit charitable organizations not engaged in commercial activities, may still be entitled to its protections if they are individually covered by the FLSA. Employees are individually covered if they are engaged in interstate commerce or in the production of goods for interstate commerce, or in any closely related process or occupation directly essential to such production. Examples of such activities include making and receiving interstate telephone calls, shipping materials to another state, and transporting persons or property to another state.

See Fact Sheet #14A for more information about the coverage of non-profit organizations under the FLSA.

Do the FLSA pump at work requirements apply to first responders and rescue workers like police, firefighters, and child protection workers? Do the requirements apply to Emergency Medical Service (EMS) staff?

Yes. Under the FLSA, firefighters, EMS staff, police, child protection workers, and other first responders and rescue workers have the same pump at work protections as other workers, including the right to reasonable break time and a place, other than a bathroom, that is shielded from view and free from intrusion to express breast milk while at work. This right is available for up to one year after a child’s birth.

Do FLSA pump at work requirements apply to domestic service workers such as housekeepers, home health care workers, cooks, and full-time nannies or babysitters?

Yes. Domestic workers – including housekeepers, full-time babysitters, cooks, nurses, certified nurse aides, home health care aides, and other individuals providing home health care services – fall within the term “domestic service employment,” and are covered by the FLSA.

See Fact Sheet #14 for more information about FLSA coverage. See Fact Sheet #25 for more information about the FLSA coverage of workers in the home health care industry.

Does the break time have to be paid break time?

If an employee is not completely relieved from duty, time used to pump breast milk at work must be paid. For more information on what it means to be completely relieved from duty, see Wage and Hour Division Fact Sheet #22, Hours Worked under the FLSA. If employers provide paid breaks, an employee who expresses milk during a break must be compensated in the same way that other employees are compensated for break time. Additionally, employees must be paid for breaks as required by State or local laws that apply to them.

Do employers need to create a permanent, dedicated space for use by nursing employees?

An employer may create or convert a temporary space for expressing milk, or make a space available when needed. The space must be shielded from view, and free from any intrusion from co-workers and the public. The location provided must be functional as a space for expressing breast milk. If the space is not dedicated to the nursing employees’ use, it must be available when the employee needs it in order to meet the statutory requirement. Employers may also choose to create permanent, dedicated spaces for employees to express breast milk.

Do employers have to provide a space to pump breast milk even if they don’t have any nursing employees?

The statute requires employers to provide a space for a nursing employee “each time such employee has need to express the milk.” If there is no employee with a need to express breast milk, then the employer would not have an obligation to provide a space. It is a best practice for employers to consider where they will make space available when it is needed.

If the only space available to express breast milk at a work site is a bathroom, can employers require employees to express breast milk there?

No. The statute specifically states that the space provided for employees to express breast milk cannot be a bathroom.

Can an employer require an employee to submit a doctor’s note before allowing an employee to take pump breaks?

No. An employer may not require an employee to provide a doctor’s note before allowing an employee to take pump breaks.

The FLSA requires employers to provide reasonable break time for an employee to express breast milk for their nursing child for one year after the child’s birth each time the employee has need to express the milk. Employees are entitled to a place to pump at work, other than a bathroom, that is shielded from view and free from intrusion from coworkers and the public.

Do pump at work requirements apply to small businesses?

All employers covered by the FLSA, regardless of the size of their business, are required to comply with this provision. Employers with fewer than 50 employees are not subject to the FLSA break time requirement if the employer can demonstrate that compliance with the provision would impose an undue hardship. Undue hardship is determined by looking at the difficulty or expense of compliance for a specific employer in comparison to the size, financial resources, nature, or structure of the employer’s business. All employees who work for the covered employer, regardless of work site, are counted when determining whether this exemption may apply.

How does the Department determine whether the undue hardship exemption applies to a small business?

Employers with fewer than 50 employees must demonstrate that compliance would impose an undue hardship to claim the small employer exemption from the pump at work requirements of the FLSA. Whether compliance would be an undue hardship is determined on an individual employee basis. The Wage and Hour Division will evaluate each claim of undue hardship by applying the statutory factors to the particular factual circumstances of a case.

The employer bears the burden of proving that compliance with the pump at work provisions would be an undue hardship in the particular circumstances. To assert the exemption, an employer must be able to demonstrate that the employee’s specific needs for pumping at work create an undue hardship due to the significant difficulty or expense of compliance in light of the size, financial resources, nature, and structure of the employer’s business. Because this is a stringent standard, employers will be exempt only in limited circumstances.

For purpose of the undue hardship exemption, how will the Department determine whether an employer has fewer than 50 employees?

All employees who work for the covered employer, regardless of work site, are counted. Consistent with the FLSA definition of employee, “any individual employed by an employer” must be counted, including full-time employees, part-time employees, and any other individuals who meet the FLSA definition of employee found at 29 U.S.C. 203(e)(1).

What should I do if I am denied space or break time to pump?

If you think your right to reasonable break time and a space that is shielded from view and free from intrusion to pump at work has been violated, you may file a complaint with the Wage and Hour Division or file a private cause of action seeking appropriate remedies. You can call or visit any Wage and Hour Office to ask questions or file a complaint. You can also call our toll-free help line: I-866-4USWAGE (1-866-487-9243). If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.

If you choose to file a private action for your employer’s failure to provide an appropriate space to pump, you may be required to provide your employer notice of the failure and 10 days to come into compliance.

You are not required to provide notice, however, before filing a complaint with the Wage and Hour Division or when filing a private action for your employer’s failure to provide reasonable break time. An employer cannot retaliate against you for exercising your rights, filing a complaint or cooperating with an investigation.

What might I be able to recover if my right to pump at work was violated?

If your right to pump at work was violated you may be entitled to remedies that are available under the FLSA such as employment, reinstatement, promotion, payment of wages lost and an equal amount as liquidated damages, compensatory damages and make-whole relief, such as economic losses that resulted from violations, and punitive damages where appropriate.

Are there any requirements for information about these rights to be shared with employees or posted in a visible location?

Every employer of employees subject to the FLSA’s minimum wage provisions must post (and keep posted) a notice explaining the FLSA in a conspicuous place in all of their establishments so employees can easily read it. The content of the notice, including information about the FLSA pump at work requirements, is prescribed by the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor. To review or download a poster, visit Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) Minimum Wage Poster | U.S. Department of Labor (dol.gov).

Many U.S. states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia have laws related to breastfeeding and expressing milk in the workplace. Are these state laws preempted by the new federal break time requirements?

The FLSA requirements under the PUMP Act do not preempt state laws that provide greater protections to employees (for example, compensated break time, or break time to express milk beyond one year after the child’s birth).

What other rights and protections do lactating workers have in the workplace?

The Wage and Hour Division (WHD) and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) flyer, “Federal Protections for Pregnant, Postpartum and Pumping Workers,” provides additional information about the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) and the Providing Urgent Protections for Nursing Mothers Act (PUMP Act), and other federal protections.

Our webpage, “What to Expect from Your Employer When You’re Expecting,” also provides information about the PUMP Act, the PWFA, and the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).

See the U.S. Department of Labor’s Women’s Bureau information page, “Employment Issues Related to Pregnancy, Birth and Nursing,” for a map of federal and state-level employment protections.