The U.S. House of Representatives, on a largely bipartisan vote of 276 to 149, has approved a bill (H.R. 3110) that would revise current federal law that requires employers to allow nursing workers a reasonable amount of unpaid break time to express breast milk in the workplace. Among the changes that would be made by H.R. 3110, entitled the “Providing Urgent Maternal Protection (PUMP) for Nursing Mothers Act,” are expanding the law’s coverage to include previously uncovered employees and extending the time limits for which the accommodation must be provided.
A similar bill (S. 1658) was approved by the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee on May 25, also with bipartisan support, and awaits Senate floor action. Although timing for any further action on the “PUMP” Act is unknown at this time, the fact that the measure enjoys bipartisan support in both the House and the Senate suggests that it has a good chance of becoming law at some point in the near future.
Members of the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC) can read more here.