Laws that protect expressing breast milk in the workplace are particularly important because a significant number of mothers wean when they go back to work and do not find support for pumping. Working mothers in Oregon, Montana and New Mexico soon will join the ranks of the nearly one in four U.S. states that have workplace protections for pumping.
Yesterday the Oregon Senate passed a revised version of House Bill 2372. The House is expected to approve the minor amendments and Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski already indicated he will sign the bill into law. The new law amends Oregon Revised Statutes …read more

Senator Carol Williams watched her own daughter wonder how hard it would be to go back to work after having a baby and decided to seek protections for breastfeeding women in the workplace. She introduced Senate Bill 89 which would prohibit public employers (but not private) from discriminating against breastfeeding mothers. It would also require public employers to provide reasonable unpaid break time and a private place to express milk. The bill has already passed the Senate and is scheduled for hearing before the House Education Committee on March 19, 2007, at 3 p.m. Senator Williams expects the bill pass …read more