Relates to employee access to lactation rooms in the workplace; requires that employers post written policies regarding the rights of nursing employees.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
3998
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 30, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. FORREST -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Labor
AN ACT to amend the labor law, in relation to employee access to lacta-
tion rooms in the workplace
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivisions 2 and 3 of section 206-c of the labor law, as
2 added by chapter 672 of the laws of 2022, are amended to read as
3 follows:
4 2. (a) Upon request of an employee who chooses to express breast milk
5 in the workplace, an employer shall designate a room or other location
6 which shall be made available for use by such employee to express breast
7 milk. Such room or other location shall be a place that is: (i) hygien-
8 ic; (ii) in close proximity to the work area; [(ii)] (iii) well lit;
9 [(iii)] (iv) shielded from view; and [(iv)] (v) free from intrusion from
10 other persons in the workplace or the public. Such room or other
11 location shall provide, at minimum, a chair, a working surface, a refri-
12 gerator that shall be used only for purposes related to lactation, near-
13 by access to clean running water and, if the workplace is supplied with
14 electricity, an electrical outlet. The room or location provided by the
15 employer for this purpose shall not be a restroom or toilet stall and
16 shall be located outside the confines of a public restroom.
17 (b) If the sole purpose or function of such room or other location is
18 not dedicated for use by employees to express breast milk, such room or
19 other location shall be made available to such an employee when needed
20 and shall not be used for any other purpose or function while in use by
21 such employee. Employers shall provide notice to all employees as soon
22 as practicable when such room or other location has been designated for
23 use by employees to express breast milk.
24 [(c) Where compliance with the requirements of paragraphs (a) or (b)
25 of this subdivision is impracticable because it would impose an undue
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD07341-01-5
A. 3998 2
1 hardship on the employer by causing significant difficulty or expense
2 when considered in relation to the size, financial resources, nature, or
3 structure of the employer's business, such employer shall make reason-
4 able efforts to provide a room or other location, other than a restroom
5 or toilet stall, that is in close proximity to the work area where an
6 employee can express breast milk in privacy. Provided, however, nothing
7 in this subdivision shall otherwise exempt an employer from the require-
8 ments of subdivision one of this section.
9 (d) If the workplace has access to refrigeration, the employer shall
10 extend such access to refrigeration for the purposes of storing the
11 expressed milk.]
12 3. The commissioner shall develop and implement a written policy
13 regarding the rights of nursing employees to express breast milk in the
14 workplace pursuant to the provisions of this section. Employers shall
15 provide such written policy to each employee upon hire and annually
16 thereafter, and to employees upon returning to work following the birth
17 of a child. Employers shall post such policy publicly in a clear and
18 conspicuous location in a common or break area and in the employee hand-
19 book, to the extent that an employer provides such handbook to employ-
20 ees, and in a location accessible on either the employer's website or on
21 the internet in a manner accessible by employees. Such policy shall:
22 (a) Inform employees of their rights pursuant to this section;
23 (b) Specify the means by which a request may be submitted to the
24 employer for a room or other location for use by employees to express
25 breast milk; and
26 (c) Require the employer to respond to such request within a reason-
27 able timeframe, but not to exceed five business days.
28 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
