McDonald Hopkins Labor and Employment Alert: Federally Mandated Break Time for Nursing Mothers: Department of Labor Issues and Seeks Commentary on its Preliminary Interpretations

CLEVELAND, Jan. 20, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. Department of Labor's (DOL) Wage and Hour Division (WHD) recently published a notice requesting commentary from the public regarding the recent amendment to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), and the WHD's preliminary interpretations of such amendment, that requires employers to provide reasonable break time and a place for nursing mothers to express breast milk for one year after the child's birth.

The nursing mother break time requirement that is now part of the FLSA is set forth in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (the "Act") and became effective when the Act was signed into law by the President on March 23, 2010 (see "FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION: Health Care Reform Produces Federally Mandated Break Time For Nursing Mothers," McDonald Hopkins Labor and Employment Practice Group Alert, April 2010). The Act's amendment to the FLSA requires employers to provide "reasonable break time for an employee to express breast milk for her nursing child for one year after the child's birth each time such employee has need to express the milk." Employers are also required to provide "a place, other than a bathroom, that is shielded from view and free from intrusion from coworkers and the public, which may be used by an employee to express breast milk." See 29 U.S.C. section 207(r).

Click below to read the McDonald Hopkins Labor and Employment Alert:

McDonald Hopkins Law Firm Alert; Federally Mandated Break Time For Nursing Mothers: Department of Labor Issues and Seeks Commentary on its Preliminary Interpretations

http://www.mcdonaldhopkins.com/alerts/alert.aspx?id=V00JHIV1PEGUpC08ej7p3g

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McDonald Hopkins is a business advisory and advocacy law firm with offices in Chicago, Cleveland, Columbus, Detroit, and West Palm Beach. The firm's comprehensive legal services are provided by teams of specialized attorneys and professionals in areas such as business law, litigation, business restructuring and bankruptcy, estate planning, government affairs, healthcare, intellectual property, labor and employment, and mergers and acquisitions. The president of McDonald Hopkins is Carl J. Grassi . For more information about McDonald Hopkins, visit www.mcdonaldhopkins.com.

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