December 2022: New York Governor Enacts Workplace Breastfeeding Law

Update Applicable to:
All employers in the state of New York

What happened?
On December 9, 2022, Governor Hochul signed Bill A01236A into law, which expands accommodations for nursing mothers.

What are the details?
Effective June 7, 2023, Bill A01236A would require New York employers must provide employees who choose to express breast milk in the workplace with a room or other location to do so.

Per the law, the location must be near the work area, well-lit, shielded from view, and free from intrusion from other people in the workplace. Employers also must provide a chair, a working surface, and access to clean, running water. Access to an electrical outlet and refrigeration also must be provided if the workplace has access to these amenities.

The room or location may not be a restroom or toilet stall. If compliance would pose an undue hardship on an employer, that employer must make reasonable efforts to provide a private space in which an employee may express breast milk, per the statute. Employers also must develop a written breastfeeding policy to be given to each employee upon hire and those returning to work following childbirth.

For more information, please see the links below:

Bill A01236A

Fact Sheet

New York State Announcement

Article

What do employers need to do?
Employers should review the links provided above, provide the required assets and space for their nursing employers, and develop a written breastfeeding policy to be given to each employee upon hire and those returning to work following childbirth.