Employment; break time and location for employees to express breast milk. (HB1076)
Introduced By
Del. David Yancey (R-Newport News) with support from co-patrons Del. Daun Hester (D-Norfolk), and Sen. Jennifer McClellan (D-Richmond)
Progress
✓ |
Introduced |
✗ |
Passed Committee |
☐ |
Passed House |
☐ |
Passed Senate |
☐ |
Signed by Governor |
☐ |
Became Law |
Description
Employment; break to express breast milk. Requires employers, including the Commonwealth and its political subdivisions, to provide reasonable unpaid break time each day to an employee who needs to express breast milk for the employee's infant child. An employer is exempt from this requirement if providing the break time would unduly disrupt its operations. An employer is also required to make reasonable efforts to provide a room or other location in close proximity to the work area, other than a toilet stall, where such an employee can express breast milk in privacy. No penalty is provided for a violation of this requirement. Read the Bill »
Outcome
History
| Date | Action |
|---|---|
| 01/13/2016 | Committee |
| 01/13/2016 | Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/13/16 16102258D |
| 01/13/2016 | Referred to Committee on Commerce and Labor |
| 01/26/2016 | Assigned to sub: Subcommittee #2 |
| 01/26/2016 | Assigned C & L sub: Subcommittee #2 |
| 01/27/2016 | Impact statement from DPB (HB1076) |
| 02/16/2016 | Left in Commerce and Labor |
Comments
The ACLU of Virginia supports this bill. Under current Virginia law, a nursing mother’s right to breastfeeding accommodations at work depends on how she is paid and/or the type and amount of business her employer conducts, not whether her employer has the resources to accommodate her needs. This bill would change that by requiring all Virginia employers to provide employees with reasonable breastfeeding accommodations during work hours unless doing so would unduly disrupt the employer’s operations. New mothers reentering the workforce face many obstacles to continuing breastfeeding, despite strong medical consensus in its favor. A woman should not have to choose between keeping her job and nursing her child, and this law is designed to ensure Virginia’s nursing mothers do not have to make that choice.