DOL to Host Webinar on the PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act
On March 16, the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) will present a webinar titled “The PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act: What Advocates and Employers Need to Know.” The free webinar is intended to provide resources and tools to assist employees who wish to continue breastfeeding after returning to work and to help employers understand their responsibilities under the law.
In December 2022, the PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act was enacted into law through the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023. The bill amends the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to expand access to breastfeeding accommodations in the workplace for lactating employees and builds on existing protections in the 2010 Break Time for Nursing Mothers Provision by broadening breastfeeding accommodations and workplace protections. In the new law, protections are expanded to include salaried employees exempt from overtime pay requirements under the FLSA as well as other categories of employees currently exempt from such protections, such as teachers, nurses and farmworkers. It also clarifies that break time provided under this bill is considered compensable hours worked so long as the worker is not completely relieved of duty during such breaks, and it ensures remedies for nursing mothers for employer violations of the bill.
Following the passage of the Act, on February 9, WHD issued Field Assistance Bulletin No. 2023-1, “Telework Under the Fair Labor Standards Act and Family and Medical Leave Act.” This bulletin provides guidance for WHD field staff on how to apply protections under the FLSA that provide reasonable break time for nursing employees to express milk while teleworking, among other clarifications. The bulletin explicitly refers to the passage of the PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act and its expanded coverage to more employees, and it may be discussed during the upcoming webinar.
The webinar will be held on Thursday, March 16 at 2:00 p.m. ET. The webinar is free to the public, and participants can register to attend online. CUPA-HR’s government relations team will attend the webinar and keep members apprised of any significant updates related to the PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act.
