U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) tours a Lactation Pod at Chicago's O'Hare International airport along with Commissioner of the Chicago Department of Aviation, Jamie Rhee. Photo Courtesy of Office of US Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL.)
Vermont Business Magazine The PUMP Act has just passed. The new law, Providing Urgent Maternal Protections (PUMP) for Nursing Mothers Act (H.R. 3110/ S. 1658), amends—and expands—the current federal law providing workplace lactation accommodation protections.
Passed by the House with bipartisan support in October 2021, the bill stalled in the Senate until December 2022 when it was passed as part of the federal spending bill. The PUMP Act amends section 7R of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), “Break Time for Nursing Mothers,” to improve existing workplace lactation protections. Passed in 2010 as part of the Affordable Care Act, the current law requires employers to provide non-exempt (hourly) employees with break time and a private, non-bathroom space to pump.
As you cover the PUMP Act and its potential impact on business in the US, Sascha Mayer, Co-founder of Mamava, member of Fast Company’s Executive Board, and expert in lactation space design is available for commentary on the important tenets of this pending legislation and related topics, including the following:
”The passage of the PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act is a historic win that ensures that all breastfeeding parents have lactation accommodations at work. While the 2010 amendment of the Fair Labor Standards Act was an important step in securing protections, almost nine million breastfeeding parents were excluded from that legislation. All breastfeeding parents deserve to have the legal protections they need to pump at work. Having break time and a lactation space are essential for working parents to continue their breastfeeding journey. All too often, workplace lactation accommodations are seen as a nice-to-have amenity rather than an essential right. The PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act will provide the rights and protections that so many working breastfeeding parents currently lack.”
About Mamava
Mamava, the leading expert in lactation space design, is dedicated to transforming the culture of breastfeeding in the United States by providing flexible lactation space solutions designed to meet the needs of breastfeeding families. Mamava pods are linked into a proprietary smart technology system that empowers easy wayfinding and autonomous access. Parents can open them with Mamava’s free app (available for iOS and Android). The app also allows moms to see availability of pods, opt into vacancy alerts, adjust interior lighting and airflow, and leave digital notes of support for the next person. Best of all, the app helps breastfeeding people find thousands ofplaces to pump on the go—not just Mamava pods, and never a bathroom. To learn more, visit Mamava at mamava.com
