Georgia Governor Brian Kemp has signed a new law requiring employers to provide paid breastfeeding breaks and private sites on site for working mothers to express breast milk. The new law comes into effect immediately.
Georgia House Bill 1090, also known as “Charlotte’s Law,” was inspired by a public school teacher whose supervisor did not allow her to pump during her scheduled break. The teacher was only allowed to pump during the break if she stayed after work to make up for this time.
Previously, an employer had to give an employee reasonable unpaid rest time to express breast milk for an infant. Similarly, employers could, but were not required to provide workers with a room or other location near the work area, with the exception of a toilet cubicle where they could express breast milk.
The new law (codified in OCGA § 34-1-6) stipulates that employers must give employees who want to express breast milk on the construction site during working hours an appropriate break. Employers cannot require workers to take paid vacation for such breaks or to reduce a worker’s salary because the worker is taking a break to express breast milk.
The law also requires employers to provide a private space other than a toilet for workers to express breast milk on site.
However, the new law does not require employers to give an employee a paid break on a day when the employee is not working on the employer’s site.
Jackson Lewis PC © 2020National Law Review, Volume X, Number 224
