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 and community members. 

Date	Version Number	Change Description	Referenced Section
10/27/2023	1.0	New Document	Entire Document
8/6/24	1.1	Minor Revision	6.0
5/14/25	2.0	Major Revision	1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0, 6.0, 9.0, 10.0.

 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 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.

University 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:

• Employee support — Human Resource & Payroll 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 accommodations 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 & Payroll 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 Title IX training annually.
• Request for lactation accommodations — Employees will give supervisors advanced notice of the need and anticipated timeframe for lactation accommodations, preferably prior to their return to work. To request accommodations employees will: Reach out to Human Resource & Payroll Services with any questions about necessary accommodations.

State University of New York Plattsburgh will respond to lactation accommodation requests within a reasonable timeframe, but not to exceed five (5) business days.

• Milk expression breaks — Under current New York state law, all employers must give employees a 30-minute paid break each time there is a reasonable need to express milk while at work. This break is in addition to the employee’s usual break and meal times. This policy recognizes that all employees are different and there may be a customized approach for each person. Employees may use usual break and meal periods for expressing milk when an employee needs to extend their lactation break over the given 30 minutes.

The University has designated lactation spaces which will be available to employees and community members. Lactation spaces should include the following:

• Located in close proximity to the employee's workstation. (employees)
• Well lit, shielded from view, and free from intrusion from other persons in the workplace or the public.
• This space should, at minimum, contain a chair, a working surface (desk, small table, counter, or other flat surface), and an electrical outlet.
• If possible, a lockable door should provide entrance into the lactation space. If a lockable door is unavailable and cannot be installed, the lactation space must use a privacy screen/room divider to create a privatized space.
• This space is made available on a first-come first-served basis.
• Private and sanitary. The space cannot be a restroom.
• This space must be intended to be used for the primary purpose of chest/breastfeeding or for expressing human milk.

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 & Payroll 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 — Expressed milk can be stored in the refrigerator located in the designated lactation room or in the employee's personal cooler. Employees utilizing the refrigerator located in the designated lactation room 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.
• Employee Responsibilities — Employees may use regularly scheduled break or meal times to express milk, when a break longer than the given 30 minutes is needed.
• 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
• SUNY Plattsburgh Pregnancy, Parenting & Related Conditions
• New York Civil Rights Chapter 6, Article 7, Section 79-E
• New York Public Buildings Chapter 44, Article 5, Section 144

Method	Date
Campus Handbook	10/27/2023
Faculty/Staff Digest	6/2/2025
Student Digest	6/2/2025
Other	N/A

Training: Upon hire and at least annually, this policy will be included in Title IX training to allow for employees of SUNY Plattsburgh to ensure consistency in support of chest/breastfeeding families.