WASHINGTON – Congresswoman Jahana Hayes, releases a statement on the passage of the Protections (PUMP) for Nursing Mothers Act (H.R. 3110), a bill to extend break time and space protections for nursing mothers in the workplace. Working mothers are not sufficiently protected under current federal break time and space law.
“Mothers should not have to choose between nurturing their baby and working to provide for their family. I was happy to support the passage of the bipartisan PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act to expand and strengthen legal protections to provide nursing mothers with the time and privacy to pump at work,” said Congresswoman Hayes.
This legislation expands protections to nearly nine million US workers in agriculture, transportation, airlines, and teachers and more to ensure they recover and supports them when their rights are violated.
The PUMP Act:
- Extends break time and space protections to workers who are currently excluded from overtime protections, including agricultural workers, transportation workers, airline workers, and teachers;
- Ensures workers can recover appropriate forms of relief in court for violations, including reinstatement or back pay;
- Extends break time and space protections to workers up to two years after the employee gives birth or begins nursing a child;
- Ensures workers are covered by break time and space protections when they begin nursing a child, including an adopted child, or when they give birth, even if the infant is stillborn or the worker does not retain custody of the infant; and
- Clarifies that if a worker is not completely relieved of duty during breaks, such break time is considered hours worked and thus compensable.
The bill text can be found here.
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Congresswoman Jahana Hayes sits on the Committees on Education & Labor and Agriculture and proudly represents Connecticut’s 5th District. She was a public school teacher in Connecticut for more than 15 years and was recognized in 2016 as the National Teacher of the Year.
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