Lactation Accommodation Policy

According to the CDC, research has shown that accommodating chest/breastfeeding employees increases job satisfaction, improves productivity and employees’ relationship with their employer, and decreases absences from work, health care costs, and employee turnover. Since chest/breastfeeding has been shown to be an important form of infant nutrition, the State University of New York Plattsburgh provides a supportive environment to enable lactating and nursing employees to express their milk during work hours. We encourage all employees to collaborate and work together to ensure that this policy is successful and supports all employees.

Date	Version Number	Change Description	Referenced Section
10/27/2023	1.0	New Document	Entire Document

 Review Process / Approval

Action:	Units	Date
Policy Review	Human Resource Services	7/27/23
Policy Approval	Executive Council	10/23/23

This policy shall extend to all full-time, part-time and temporary state employees.

NYS: New York State

NYSDOL: New York State Department of Labor

Inclusive Language Statement: Throughout this policy, several terms — breastfeeding, chestfeeding, nursing, and lactating — are used interchangeably to describe feeding human milk (from donor or birth parent). This inclusive language recognizes diversity in sex, gender identity, and gender expression and also recognizes recent changes in language to support diversity and
inclusion in infant human milk feeding. This policy acknowledges and respects all forms of parenting and the diversity of family configurations.

Breastfeeding/Chestfeeding: Breastfeeding, chestfeeding, human milk feeding, lactation and nursing will be used interchangeably to describe human milk (from donor or birth parent).

Breast Pumps/Pumping: Breast pumps/pumping also indicate chest pumps for expressing human milk.

Employer Responsibilities:

Nursing employees who choose to continue providing human milk to their infants after returning to work will receive the following accommodations for as long as the child is consuming human milk:

• Request for lactation accommodations — Employees will give supervisors advanced notice of the need and anticipated time frame for lactation accommodations, preferably prior to their return to work. To request accommodations employees will:
  
  • Reach out to Human Resource Services with any questions about necessary accommodations. State University of New York Plattsburgh will respond to lactation accommodation requests within a reasonable time frame, but not to exceed five (5) business days.
• Milk expression breaks — Under current New York law, all employers must give reasonable time to express milk each time the employee has the need to express milk while at work. This policy recognizes that all employees are different and there may be a customized approach for each person. Employees should use usual break and meal periods for expressing milk, when possible. If additional time is needed beyond the provided breaks, classified employees may use appropriate leave accruals or may make up time as negotiated with their supervisor via Flex Time Work Scheduling.
• A place to express milk — Employees will be provided with a private place, other than a bathroom, that is shielded from view and free from intrusion from co-workers and visitors, to express human milk. Expressed milk can be stored in the refrigerator located in the designated lactation room or in the employee’s personal cooler. The space will be:
  
  • Private and sanitary.
  • Located in close proximity to the employee’s workstation, well lit, shielded from view, and free from intrusion from other persons in the workplace or the public.
  • Equipped with a functional lock and a sign indicating that the space is in use and not accessible.
  • Equipped with, at minimum, a chair, a small table, nearby access to running water and, if the workplace is supplied with electricity, an electrical outlet.
• Staff support — Human Resource Services will inform pregnant employees and employees returning to work following the birth of a child of their rights under NYS Labor Law 206-c and the national worksite lactation accommodation law in the U.S patient affordable care act. A list of local chest/breastfeeding resources will be provided to nursing employees returning to work. Human Resource Services will help facilitate each employee’s infant feeding goals. It is expected that all employees will assist in providing a positive atmosphere of support for nursing employees. Information about this lactation policy will be incorporated into existing employee training.

Employee Responsibilities:

Nursing employees who choose to continue providing human milk after returning to work will:

• Communicate with the supervisor — Employees will reach out if there is a need for lactation accommodations, preferably prior to their return to work. To request accommodations employees will:
  • Notify Human Resource Services at [email protected] or by calling 518-564-5062. The State University of New York Plattsburgh will respond to lactation accommodation requests within a reasonable timeframe, but not to exceed five (5) business days.
• Maintain milk expression areas — Employees will maintain designated areas by wiping surfaces with facility-provided anti-microbial wipes before leaving the lactation area, so the area is clean for the next user.
• Safely store expressed milk — Employees will label all expressed milk with their name and date collected so it is not inadvertently confused with another employee’s milk. Each employee is responsible for proper storage of their milk. Storage guidelines can be found on the CDC website: Proper Storage and Preparation of Breast Milk.
• Use break or meal times to express milk, when possible.
• Bringing a child to campus. Employees who need to bring a child to campus must follow the SUNY Plattsburgh Children in the Workplace Policy. 

See Responsibilities.

None

• New York State Labor Law 206-C
• United States Department of Labor Break Time For Nursing Mothers Section 7 of The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – Proper Storage and Preparation of Breast Milk
• SUNY Plattsburgh Children in the Workplace Policy
• SUNY Plattsburgh Student Concerns & Complaints Procedures
• SUNY College at Plattsburgh Flex Time Work Scheduling

Method	Date
Campus Handbook	10/27/2023
Faculty/Staff Digest	11/2/2023
Student Digest	N/A
Other	N/A

Information about this lactation policy will be incorporated into existing employee training. The policy will follow standard distribution to the campus and also target the stakeholders who were consulted during the process.