By federal law, employers are required to provide break times for nursing mothers. In fact, this legal requirement has been in place since March 2010 (when the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, PPACA, amended Section 7 of the Fair Labor Standards Act, FLSA). And if you aren't familiar with it, keep reading to learn more about some of the most important aspects of this federal law.

Break Time for Nursing Mothers: Here's What You Should Know

1 – Within the first year following birth, nursing mothers get breaks whenever needed to express milk.

In fact, the law specifically states that employers are required to provide “reasonable break time for an employee to express break mile for her nursing child for 1 year after the child's birth each time such employees has need to express the milk.”

2 – Employers have to provide a private location for expressing milk.

A private place must be “a place, other than a bathroom, that is shielded from view and free from intrusion from coworkers and the public.”

While the law explains that this space doesn't have to be exclusively dedicated to nursing mothers, it must be made available to them whenever they have the need to express milk.

3 – In some cases, state laws for nursing mothers may trump the FLSA requirements.

Specifically, if state laws provide more protections or benefits for nursing mothers than the federal law provides, these laws will preempt the federal law. Examples of greater protections that could be provided by state laws include (but are by no means limited to):

• Allowing nursing mothers break times to express milk after the first year following childbirth
• Compensating nursing mothers for these break times
• Allowing exempt employees to take break time to express milk.

Atlanta Employment Lawyers at the Law Firm of Barrett & Farahany, LLP, LLP

Have you been the target of pregnancy discrimination? Or has your employer violated any of your rights? If so, you can turn to the experienced Atlanta employment attorneys at the Law Firm of Barrett & Farahany, LLP, LLP for aggressive legal advocacy and the highest quality legal services.

At Barrett & Farahany, LLP, we believe in helping people and protecting their rights, and we're willing to take the hard road, turning over every stone along the way, to obtain every piece of evidence needed to win your case. Our lawyers are innovative, persistent, and motivated, and they are ready to put their experience, skills and insight to work helping you.