As many of you have probably heard, late last year, the New York
City Council passed two laws that will amend the NYC Human Rights
Law to expand the requirements of employers to provide lactation
space for breastfeeding employees and to develop lactation policies
and processes for employees to request accommodations for nursing.
These new laws take effect March 17, 2019, which is right around
the corner!
The first law amends the NYC law requiring employers to
designate as a lactation room a sanitary space other than a
restroom where employees can express breastmilk, shielded from view
and free from intrusion. The room must include at least a space to
place a breast pump and other personal items, must be near running
water, and must have an electrical outlet and a chair. In addition,
both the lactation room and a refrigerator suitable for storing
breast milk need to be reasonably close to the employees' work
area. When not in use for purposes of expressing milk, the
