Lactation Support for Employees

One of the first choices you make as a new parent is how to feed your baby. If you have chosen to breastfeed or bottlefeed with expressed breastmilk, you may have many questions about how to do this successfully while on campus. Below is some information and resources you may find helpful. If you wish to discuss this information or have questions, please contact our office. University employees should consider speaking with their supervisor or HR consultant before returning from leave to make arrangements to breastfeed or express milk during the work day. The University Child Care Committee prepared a sample letter that may be helpful in discussing your lactation needs with your supervisor.  

Break Time For Nursing Moms

The Affordable Care Act amended the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), adding a legal requirement for employers to provide reasonable break time for an employee to express breast milk for one year following the child's birth.

Employers are not required under the FLSA to compensate nursing mothers for breaks taken for the purpose of expressing milk. However, where employers already provide compensated breaks, an employee who uses that break time to express milk must be compensated in the same way that other employees are compensated for break time. 

At ISU, we have generally considered reasonable breaks for new mothers to express milk to be paid breaks. The supervisor should work with the employee to support the necessary breaks and balance work assignments, given the need for breaks. If a supervisor feels that breaks are unreasonable, they must contact University Human Resources office of Employee/Labor Relations to discuss next steps.

The Fact Sheet and Frequently Asked Questions provide basic information about the law.