Indiana Breastfeeding Bill Signed into Law
February 28, 2008 by Angela White, J.D., breastfeeding counselor
Filed under breastfeeding, law
Starting July 1, 2008, a new Indiana law protects breastfeeding in the workplace. The law applies to businesses with 25 or more employees, as well as the state and political subdivisions of the state. Governor Mitch Daniels signed into law the legislation introduced by State Senator Vi Simpson. The enrolled act reads in part:
Chapter 14. Employee Breaks
Sec. 1. As used in this chapter, “employer” means a person or entity that employs twenty-five (25) or more employees.
Sec. 2. (a) To the extent reasonably possible, an employer shall provide a private location, other than a toilet stall, where an employee can express the employee’s breast milk in privacy during any period away from the employee’s assigned duties.
(b) To the extent reasonably possible, an employer shall:
(1) provide a refrigerator or other cold storage space for keeping milk that has been expressed; or
(2) allow the employee to provide the employee’s own portable cold storage device for keeping milk that has been expressed until the end of the employee’s work day.
(c) Except in cases of willful misconduct, gross negligence, or bad faith, an employer is not liable for any harm caused by or arising from either of the following that occur on the employer’s premises:
(1) The expressing of an employee’s breast milk.
(2) The storage of expressed milk.
Inside INdiana Business quotes Senator Simpson as saying:
This legislation benefits not only mothers and their children. It also benefits employers because women with infants are the fastest growing section of the labor force and breastfeeding typically causes lower healthcare costs for the mother and child. I’m pleased to see the governor agreed and signed it into law.
I am very pleased that Indiana has finally passed this law. I was only able to nurse my first son for the duration of my maternity leave which was only six weeks beacuse my employer a plastics factory had no sanitary place for me to pump. They told me to use a bathroom, and a factories bathroom isnt the cleanest place to pump. I recently had another baby and found another job that has been very cooperative in providing me a clean place to pump, but it is nice to found out that soon it will be a law for any other factory working nursing mothers!
I am so excited to know that now I am protected in the fact that I can pump at work!!! How wonderful that Indiana now recognizes the importance of working mothers and their children’s needs!
just in time! i had my baby may 12th a we-bit early but healthy. his needs always come first, im thankful that even when i return to work i can still take care of his needs. thank you for understanding the needs of our childern as well as ours.
Fantastic! Now, who do we need to contact to get this passed across the river in KY?
Dianna, good question! There are some breastfeeding laws on the books in KY — http://www.ncsl.org/programs/health/breast50.htm#k
You might check who sponsored those original bills and start a letter writing campaign asking them to sponsor a bill similar to Indiana’s.
Kentucky has several state breastfeeding coalitions:
http://209.85.141.104/search?q=cache:y_qWy6ELrv0J:chfs.ky.gov/NR/rdonlyres/0FA1896D-0968-44CF-8231-10B12DA563DD/0/KENTUCKYBREAASTFEEDINGCOALITIONS0108.doc+kentucky+breastfeeding+coalition&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=2&gl=us
You could contact them and see if anything is in the works or if any of the organizations is interested in helping sponsor a campaign to get such a law passed.
It’s great that a law was passed but some employers still harass mothers for pumping. The owner of my salon makes me clock out to pump and tells me i can go in the office to pump but i have to leave the door open. There are always people in and out of the back room so what should i do? She also told me i couldnt return to work without a doctors note because it was “a medical condition”. She’s from Kentucky.
Where does a breast feeding employee go for help if her employer refuses to follow the new law?
Hi Joy and Michele,
A good place to go for help would be a local La Leche League leader. Here’s how to find one in Indiana:
http://www.llli.org/Web/Indiana.html
A leader cannot offer legal advice, but she can offer information about the law, guide you to resources, and help you think through how to talk to the employer. She can also give information on the benefits to the employer (for example, babies of employees who breastfeed get sick less often and less severely, which results in fewer work absences for the m mother).
Here is an article on talking to your boss about why supporting breastfeeding is a good idea!
http://www.llli.org/Law/LawEmployment.html
Hope that helps!
what is consider an appropriate place to pump? I am employed at a company with over 1500 people. I have been given the use of a storage room the size of a small office which is filled with shelves and filing cabinets. There is a single chair and a step stool to set my pump on. They were generous enough to install a full length mirror so I can be sure to make sure I am properly dressed when I leave. There is no where to wash pump supplies or store breast milk other than the public bathroom and break room which is in another part of the building. This is my 2nd child. With the first I pumped at work for a year. I was forced to pump in the womens locker room or in the handicap shower stall if I wanted privacy. Now that Indiana passed this law I have been provided with what they consider appropriate facilities. The company strives to be an employer of choice which provides gym, cafe and other benefits but provides breastfeeding mothers a closet to pump in. My question is if there are any stipulations as to the conditions of the facility provided. I don’t feel as though the closet I am currently using is any more sanitary or convenient than the shower stall I was using before. The only benefit is the availability of electricity and slightly more privacy.
Hi Christy,
I was unable to find more detail in the version of the law I referenced. You might wish to read the comment previous to yours for info on finding a local La Leche League leader who could talk through with you how to discuss your concerns with your employer.
Are there other breastfeeding mothers using the room as well? Perhaps you can band together and come up with a proposal for what you would like to see. That could either be a new space designed for a lactation room, or it could be an unused conference room with a door that locks etc. Make it as easy as possible for your employer to help you. Another alternative would be to ask if you could work to get the storage room cleaned out — have the shelves and cabinets removed to other rooms (and you suggest possible rooms!) Explain your concerns — sanitation, comfort, convenience etc.
Assume the employer has the best intentions (even if you suspect not) and go in with a positive and pleasant demeanor and your employer might be happy to help.
Have you read the book “The Milk Memos”? It’s a fun and informative read that’s especially helpful for working and pumping mothers.
See:
http://www.breastfeeding123.com/the-milk-memos-a-book-review/
Hi Christy,
The U.S. Breastfeeding Committee has published a paper on how employers can make the workplace breastfeeding-friendly. It has a section on “adequate” “expanded” and “comprehensive” breastfeeding support programs. You might find it helpful! Maybe you could print it out and give it to your employer to jump-start a discussion.
http://www.usbreastfeeding.org/Issue-Papers/Workplace.pdf