Included in the 2025 New York state budget is a provision that requires all New York employers, regardless of size, to provide a paid 30-minute break for employees to express breast milk at work up to three years after childbirth. The employee may also use existing paid or unpaid break or mealtime for breast milk expression in excess of 30 minutes. The law does not explicitly cap the number of paid 30-minute lactation breaks per workday. Employers are required to provide lactation breaks when the employee has a reasonable need to express breast milk. The new requirement is effective June 19, 2024.
Prior to this new requirement, New York employers were only required to provide reasonable unpaid lactation breaks. It is recommended that employers change their lactation accommodation policies to reflect the new paid break requirement. The model policy developed by the New York Department of Labor has not yet been updated to reflect this change.
For additional information and updates from the State of New York regarding lactation in the workplace, please visit https://dol.ny.gov/breast-milk-expression-workplace. You can also obtain updates on such requirements through the HR Resource Center here.
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