Connecticut Laws

Connecticut requires employers to provide time and a private place (that’s not a bathroom) for breastfeeding employees to pump at work. The law was modified in 2021 to stipulate that it applies to any employer with more than one employee. Additionally, the law states that the lactation space must have an electrical outlet and be near a refrigerator so employees can store breast milk.
Conn. Gen. Stat. § 31-40w 

To Whom Does It Apply?

  • Employer: Any business with one or more employees, including the state and its political subdivisions.
  • Employee: Any person providing service to an employer in the course of the employer's business.

 Work Break Requirements

  • Employees may express breast milk or breastfeed at their workplace during their meal or break period at their discretion.
  • Employers are prohibited from discriminating, disciplining, or taking adverse employment actions against employees for exercising their breastfeeding rights. 

Lactation Space Requirements

  • Employers must make reasonable efforts to provide a lactation space that is:
    1. Close to the work area.
    2. Free from intrusion and shielded from public view.
    3. Not a toilet stall.
    4. Includes or is near a refrigerator or employee-provided portable cold storage device for storing breast milk.
    5. Includes access to an electrical outlet.
  • Reasonable efforts:
    • Defined as actions that do not impose an undue hardship on the business.
  • Undue hardship:
    • Refers to actions causing significant difficulty or expense when considering:
      • Business size.
      • Financial resources.
      • Nature and structure of operations.

House Bill No. 5158

To Whom Does It Apply?

  • Employer: Any business with one or more employees, including the state and its political subdivisions.
  • Employee: Any person providing service to an employer in the course of the employer's business.

Work Break Requirements

  • Employees may express breast milk or breastfeed on site at their workplace during their meal or break period at their discretion.
  • Employers are prohibited from discriminating, disciplining, or taking adverse employment actions against employees for exercising their breastfeeding rights.

Lactation Space Requirements

  • Employers must make reasonable efforts to provide a lactation space that:
    1. Is close to the work area.
    2. Is free from intrusion and shielded from public view.
    3. Is not a toilet stall.
    4. Includes or is near a refrigerator or employee-provided portable cold storage device for storing breast milk.
    5. Includes access to an electrical outlet.
  • Reasonable efforts:
    • Defined as actions that do not impose an undue hardship on the business.
  • Undue hardship:
    • Refers to actions causing significant difficulty or expense when considering:
      • Business size.
      • Financial resources.
      • Nature and structure of operations.