For Employers
A TOOLKIT FOR EMPLOYERS
Resources for Workplaces to Support Lactating Employees
Resources, Tips, and Guidance for Supporting Your Lactating Employees When They Return to Work After Having a Baby
Returning to work after having a baby can be a stressful, exhausting experience. Balancing the needs of a job with the needs of a new baby can be overwhelming. This toolkit includes guidance to help workplaces make this challenging time a smooth transition for you and your employees.
VIDEO SERIES
Lactation-Friendly Workplace Support
These 4 videos have been created to highlight the importance of supporting lactating employees and how various Maine workplaces have successfully created lactation-friendly environments. Check out each one to learn about the various aspects of establishing workplace support for lactating employees.
Why Support Breastfeeding in the Workplace?
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Supporting workplace lactation improves retention and recruitment.
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Breastfeeding employees and their partners miss work less often because their babies are healthier.
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Breastfeeding lowers healthcare costs for the breastfeeding employee and her children because breastfeeding improves health outcomes for mothers and babies.
WHAT EMPLOYERS NEED TO KNOW
Rules & Regulations
At the bare minimum, employers should adhere to the federal and state laws that protect breastfeeding workers from discrimination, and allow them access to safe places and adequate time for pumping.
In accordance with federal law and Maine law, all employers must provide:
Reasonable break time for an employee to express breast milk for their nursing child for 3 years after the child’s birth; and
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.
Nonprofit Program Manager:
“Pumping is just as important to accommodate as bathroom breaks. Your pumping employees need to express milk and it matters for their health and the health of their baby. Pumping parents are not trying to "take advantage" of extra break time. Providing your employees with adequate space and time to pump, and offering unwavering support will help retain these hard working parents!”
While following these laws will protect you from lawsuits, it may not be enough to make your breastfeeding workers feel supported. Consider doing to more to create a supportive atmosphere by:
Providing a lactation space with a locking door, an electrical outlet, a comfortable chair, a sink, and a refrigerator.
Creating a lactation policy that is widely distributed and readily available.
Offering flexible schedules and paid breaks for your employees to express milk.
Training managers to be accommodating to their lactating team members.
Is your workplace meeting the law and best practice recommendations to support lactating employees?
If you need help reaching the requirements, please contact us at info@mainebreastfeeds.org and we’ll be happy to support you along the way!
Quick Resources for Employers
Legal & Compliance
Healthy Workplaces
Healthy Us Scorecard: Use this excellent resource to help make your workplace the healthiest it can be. See how well your workplace scores for supporting healthy living, find strategies and resources to make it as healthy as possible.
Healthy Maine Works offers all Maine employers free access to the Healthy Us Scorecard (HUS) for employers to develop a unique worksite wellness plan tailored to your company needs.
HUS is an online tool designed to guide and support Maine employers to develop worksite wellness programs that really work. The HUS simplifies the process of choosing activities and programs that best meets a workplace's wellness needs. The tool is easy to use and helps organizations of any size create a healthier place to work.
This free resource is a program of MCD Global Health, in partnership with Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention and Healthy Maine Works.
