Breastfeeding Policies

[Guest mhayes@metrosales.com]

Does anyone have any type of breast feeding policy in place at your employer? We are working on putting one together and I am looking for someplace to start. Any help would be wonderful!

[vebaguru]

What are you even thinking of? Are you referring to when infants are brought to a worksite?

I cannot imagine that an employer needs a breastfeeding policy:

1) Employees are permitted to breastfeed their infant only for the first 6 weeks from the infant's birth?

2) Employees are required to breastfeed their infant for the first 30 days from the infant's birth, and may continue to breastfeed for up to an additional 30 days?

3) No breastfeeding is permitted at the company facility during business hours?

It smacks of gender discrimination because it would apply to female employees and not to males. I cannot imagine that the use of a woman's breasts are her employer's business.

How about the type of policy described in Breastfeeding Policy?

[oriecat]

We don't have anything currently, but will probably be looking into it soon, due to a new Oregon law requiring breaks for pumping. I would make sure to check what laws you might have in your states.

http://www.ncsl.org/programs/health/breast50.htm

http://www.lalecheleague.org/Law/LawBills.html

[Guest jrzgrl]

State laws obviously should be looked to first. The La Leche League is a great link. I have heard in some states employers are required to have available a room in which a mother can go to pump that *cannot* be the bathroom, for example. The arguement for it says that it reduces staff absenteeism.