Take a break Georgia Adjustments Breastfeeding Breast Act | Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, PC

The state of Georgia has had a breastfeeding break law on the books for quite some time, but with House Bill 1090 lawmakers made some important changes effective August 5, 2020. As most employers know, the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) provides breastfeeding requirements for employers, so Georgia’s state counterpart has not received much attention, which has been simply revealing. That’s up to now. The Georgia Amendment spiced up the statute in some remarkable ways. Most importantly, the law now requires employers to grant all employees paid breastfeeding breaks.

The first notable change to the Official Code of Georgia Annotated (OCGA) Section 34-1-6 states that the employer “must allow reasonable break” and that the break “is payable at the employee’s regular pay rate.” “(Previously it could be unpaid). The law does not specify a reasonable duration; It is made clear, however, that an employer “is not required to give an employee paid breaks every day the employee works outside the employer’s premises”.

Second, the amendment states that employers will not be able to require employees who are paid on a wage basis to take paid vacation or reduce their wages due to breastfeeding breaks. This makes it clear that employees who have been released from work also receive the protection of the law. The FLSA lactation break requirements, however, do not apply to exempt employees.

Third, the employer must provide “a private place other than a toilet” where the worker can express breast milk (previously the language was free and stated that an employer “can make reasonable efforts” to locate a room or other location To be made available by the employees).

Finally, while “employer” defines “any natural or legal person who employs one or more employees”, there is an exception for employers with fewer than 50 employees (similar to the FLSA). The amendment says: “[a]An employer who employs fewer than 50 people is not subject to any requirement in this section of the Code that would impose undue harshness on the employer. Similar to other “undue hardship” analyzes, an employer may want to consider their size, financial resources, and the nature and structure of their business to determine whether an employee’s breastfeeding break request constitutes undue hardship.

Some additional points regarding the Georgia Statute and FLSA include the following:

• Georgia law does not impose a one-year limit on the provision of breastfeeding breaks like the FLSA does;
• the FLSA does not anticipate federal laws that provide better protection for employees; and
• the FLSA provides protection against retaliation.

OCGA 34-1-6 now differentiates between state and political subdivisions based on the definition of employer; however, they are dealt with separately in OCGA 45-1-7.

Employers should carefully review Georgia law and the FLSA to ensure they are complying with both laws. This includes reviewing manuals and guidelines, ensuring that every workstation has the necessary private space for breastfeeding breaks, training employees, and training managers and supervisors on the requirements of both laws.