New Mexico Breastfeeding Law Enacted
March 15, 2007 by Angela White, J.D., breastfeeding counselor
Filed under activism, breastfeeding, law, pumping
The hard work of lactation activists in New Mexico has paid off with the enactment of House Bill 613: Use of a Breast Pump in the Workplace (PDF). The new law states:
A. In order to foster the ability of a nursing mother who is an employee to use a breast pump in the workplace, an employer, including the state and its political subdivisions, shall provide:
(1) a space for using the breast pump that is:
(a) clean and private;
(b) near the employee’s workspace; and
(c) not a bathroom; and(2) flexible break times.
B. An employer shall not be liable for:
(1) storage or refrigeration of breast milk;
(2) payment for a nursing mother’s break time in addition to established employee breaks; or
(3) payment of overtime while a nursing mother is using a breast pump.
Lactivist Lissa Knudsen reports that the law will go into effect 90 days after the close of this legislative session on March 17, 2007, which by my count puts the effective date on June 15, 2007 (but don’t quote me on it!) Knudsen notes:
[I]t would be fantastic if we could get a system in place to support this law. Other states with similar laws have reported difficulty in enforcing the law (e.g. having a streamlined process for those who wish to make complaints against non-compliant employers).
She goes on to ask:
Do any of you have resources or recommendations for how to support those moms whose employers refuse to follow the law? Also, we would like to collect data on the effects of the law on breastfeeding rates and employer expenditures. Has any other state collected data like this and do you have any existing instruments we could use as a template?
Anyone with information that could help can contact Lissa Knudsen at lissaknudsen@gmail.com.
An additional breastfeeding bill remains pending in the New Mexico House Judiciary Committee at this time. Senate Bill 170 (PDF) would exempt breastfeeding mothers from jury duty. It’s interesting to note that the jury duty bill addresses the concerns we discussed earlier about a similar bill pending in Michigan as it would also excuse expectant mothers, a parent or guardian who is not employed full-time and has custody of a child under six years of age, and a caregiver for elderly or disabled persons.
I am writing a news story about this for a nursing magazine, and while it sounds very nice in theory, the law does not seem to make any exceptions. That is not realistic. How is a small business with very limited space supposed to provide a clean and private place if none exists? Some businesses may have only 2 or 3 rooms none of which can be converted. What if the mom works as a waitress at a small restaurant or cafe, where again, the clean and private space does not exist.
I am concerned that putting in a blanket mandate like this may actually increase discrimination against hiring of pregnant women or increase firing of them, making it difficult for them to return to work, etc. I think that there needs to be some modifiers in this, taking into account that many employers simply do not have the space to do this, nor can they easily acquire extra space.
Hi Roxanne,
I hear your concerns however I think that some of them may be ill founded. The law was written specifically to say a clean and private “space” rather than “room” so as to keep the burden on employers low. This means an employer can put up a $75 partition in a less frequently trafficked corner of the facility, can arrange with the mother to let her stay at her cubicle and put up a do not disturb sign, or can offer the use of a room that is otherwise not in use.
I also disagree that small cafes and restaurants are unable to provide clean and private space for this purpose… again a lesser used corner of an inventory room, the book keeper’s/shift leads office, or even a closet would meet the expectations of this law. The space does not have to be health code “sanitary” just clean and not a bathroom.
It is important to note that NM law does not include punitive or any other repercussions for not abiding by it, however if a breastfeeding mother-employee were to be fired she and her lawyers could use this law in a potential wrongful termination law suit.
All of these employers are required to provide restrooms by law and manage to do that. Why is the health of our community not worth a similar amount of effort?