Earlier this month, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont signed House
Bill No. 5158, "An Act Concerning Breastfeeding in the
Workplace." Effective October 1, 2021, this legislation
will expand the scope of an employer's obligation to
accommodate lactating and breastfeeding employees.
The new legislation amends Connecticut General Statutes section
31-40w, which guarantees an employee's right to breastfeed or
express breast milk at the workplace during the employee's meal
or break period. The statute, which applies to all
Connecticut employers regardless of size, requires employers to
make reasonable efforts to provide a room or other location where
employees can express breast milk in private. The amended
statute provides additional information regarding the "room or
other location" that must be provided beyond the existing
statute, which only requires that it must be near the work area and
cannot be a toilet stall.
