Massachusetts Laws

MASSACHUSETTS STATE LACTATION POLICIES

Massachusetts Pregnant Workers Fairness Act[1] 

To Whom Does It Apply?

The Massachusetts Pregnant Workers Fairness Act applies to all public and private employers in the state with 6 or more employees, except for not-for-profit organizations. 

Work Break Requirements.

An employer most provide more frequent or longer paid or unpaid breaks to nursing employees, as needed by such employees for the expression of breast milk. Guidance from the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD), the state agency tasked with enforcement of the act, provides that employers must allow employees to breastfeed or express breast milk as often as they need to do so, absent undue hardship to the employer’s program, enterprise or business.

Lactation breaks may be paid or unpaid. However, if the employer does provide paid breaks to employees, the employer must allow the employee to use those paid breaks to breast feed or express breast milk.

Lactation Space Requirements.

The act does not establish specific requirements for an employee lactation space, except that such space must be private and must not be a bathroom. Guidance from MCAD provides that the space should allow employees to comfortably express breast milk, and suggests the following features: electrical outlets, surfaces to hold breast pumps and other items, and seating. MCAD further advises that the space should be convenient enough for employees that traveling to and from the space does not materially impact an employee's break time.

Other Employer Obligations.

Employers have an obligation to provide reasonable accommodations to pregnant and postpartum employees, including such employees who have the need to express breast milk during the workday, once a request has been submitted by an employee. Employers must provide all employees written notice of their rights under the act. Pursuant to the act, “reasonable accommodation” may include, but shall not be limited to:

(1)            More frequent or longer breaks;

(2)            Time off to attend to a pregnancy complication or recover from childbirth;

(3)            Acquisition or modification of equipment or seating;

(4)            Temporary transfer to a less strenuous or hazardous position;

(5)            Job restructuring;

(6)            Light duty;

(7)            Private non-bathroom space for expressing breast milk;

(8)            Assistance with manual labor; or

(9)            A modified work schedule.

 

Employers may not:

(1)            Because of pregnancy or postpartum needs, such as the need to express breast milk, refuse to hire, fire, or discriminate in terms of compensation, condition or privileges of employment;

(2)            Require an employee to accept an accommodation that the employee chooses not to accept; or

(3)            Require an employee to take a leave if another reasonable accommodation may be provided.

Exempt Employers.  

The Act does not apply to employers who would suffer undue hardship from providing the employee with reasonable accommodations.

Under the act, an employer has the burden of demonstrating undue hardship, which is defined as “an action requiring significant difficulty or expense.”

In making a determination of undue hardship, the following factors shall be considered:

(1)            The nature and cost of the needed accommodation;

(2)            The overall financial resources of the employer;

(3)            The overall size of the business of the employer with respect to the number of employees and the number, type and location of its facilities; and

(4)            The effect of expenses and resources or any other impact of the accommodation on the employer’s program, enterprise or business.

 

BOSTON, MA LACTATION POLICIES

There are no lactation accommodations ordinances or rules specific to Boston, Massachusetts. 

The rights granted by the Massachusetts Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, and by the federal FLSA and PWFA, represent the highest level of workplace accommodation protections afforded to working, nursing mothers in Boston, Massachusetts.