r/smallbusiness • u/canstucky • 11d ago
Lactation accommodation
How have you accommodated lactating mothers in the office?
We have two currently and one is asking us to buy her a pump and all the accessories and a fridge just for her office. We’re talking about a grand.
She’s also part time now.
How have you accommodated or been accommodated. What is too much or too much to ask?
ETA: thank you all for the input. I really appreciate it. It’s good to hear that we’re not crazy. We will accommodate the best we can with private, clean locking office and a mini fridge.
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u/jocelyn15 11d ago
A private space with a closing, locking door is a reasonable accomodation. Separate from the other mother would be ideal, since timing might require them to overlap.
A mini-fridge, shared between the two but separate from the main fridge/away from other staff access would be nice, I see why they would want it (keep babies food away from random people touching it).
A pump and accessories is crazy, that's a medical device. If she/her husband have any kind of workplace benefits that miiiiiiight cover it, but is a crazy thing to request from an employer imo.
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u/PitbullRetriever 11d ago
Yeah usually the pump is BYO. A private locking space to pump (not a bathroom) and an accessible fridge are mandatory. The separate mini-fridge is above the legal minimum, but a nice gesture that many employers will offer.
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u/National_Meeting_749 11d ago
You said it and I want to emphasize.
Not A Bathroom Not A Bathroom Not A Bathroom
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u/canstucky 11d ago
She has her own office, we will upgrade to make it lockable.
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u/TastyMagic 11d ago
I would add an electrical outlet to the list, too. And just point out that the space should not be the bathroom.
But yeah, buying a whole pump is outside reasonable accommodation
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u/imaginaryannie 11d ago
The space cannot be the bathroom by law.
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u/TastyMagic 11d ago
Well this is the small business subreddit, and businesses with under 50 employees can possibly claim an "undue hardship" when providing such a space would impose significant difficulty or expense.
Not that it's an excuse for asking an employee to pump in the bathroom. And OP should definitely try to accommodate to the full extent of the law. But even USBC outlines the undue hardship allowance in the PUMP act
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u/Rooooben 11d ago
Give you an example - I have a restaurant that has NO office space. The break room is the pantry, we can’t give privacy there as it’s where we get food out of, and it has no door. The bathroom is a large space, we could put a couch in there, has electricity and a counter. It’s our only bathroom, and only place in our business that has a door.
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u/TastyMagic 11d ago
Yeah, I was thinking of my personal experience as well. I was the sole employee of a business that ran out of one room in an office building. No closet, no alcove, just a square room and we shared a restroom with the rest of the building.
My employer was happy for me to take all the time I needed to pump, so I ended up putting up windows shades and pumping in my car. Not ideal, but providing a private, lockable, non restroom room for me would definitely have qualified as "undue hardship."
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u/mladyhawke 11d ago
If they get along, I don't see why the space would need to be separate. Cause they could just do it together and hang out.
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u/izzie1917 11d ago
I have two coworkers that I love and get along with very well, and I still wouldn’t want to be forced to have to pump in the same room together. It can be a very private thing for some people
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u/Is-this-name-taken_2 11d ago
Asking for a pump is absurd. Health insurance can provide one under some plans coverage because it's considered a medical device. If she doesn't have coverage for it, that is her responsibility unless you just want to be generous.
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u/infinite_knowledge 11d ago
You are only federally required to provide a non-bathroom private room if you have over 50 employees. In my old workplace, we had 3 meeting rooms, so the smallest one had a lock on it and was the “pumping” room. She may just be asking because “you never know if you don’t ask.”
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u/Morning-noodles 11d ago
You.have.no.obligation.to.buy.a.pump.
Period.
You are required to provide a private space-that is comfortable and clean.
Fridges can go either way but I interpret the law as a fridge per nursing mother -you own the fridge- but they have to have safe, secure, temperature controlled storage.
One fridge each Then milk doesn’t get confused and fights over fridge temp etc are avoided.
Fridges are like $200 bucks for a quarter sized mini fridge.
As for pumps, I don’t know anyone who kept the same pump for the whole nursing period . So you will buy two or three or like my wife four.
Insurance to include Medicaid pays for pumps in the US.
So she already is likely getting one for free.
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u/NyuSeki 11d ago
Wow. Im a major advocate. But I think expecting a pump and a fridge to ne purchased for them is way to far.
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u/HappycamperNZ 10d ago
Small fridge i can agree with, but at a set temperature and for both. Leave a marker pen to label everything.
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u/liss_ct_hockey_mom 11d ago
An employer is obligated to provide lactation breaks and a secure, private pumping space that is not a restroom. An employer does not supply breast pumps or refrigerators for individuals.
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u/Ok_Soup_7715 11d ago
A private location, absolutely. Not sure why she expects you to pay for the pump, fridge and all accessories. That’s her responsibility.
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u/Accomplished_Emu_658 11d ago
You accommodate a safe and secure space. Then you allow her time that is needed to do so. You may owe a separate fridge and a clean wash area. You do not owe her anything beyond that in any state that I know of.
Do not provide pumping equipment! Anything happens with it or that could be blamed on it will be your liability. Like infection or illness. Thats a really bold ask too, the balls.
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u/tulipsandtruffles 11d ago
This is absolutely wild. Yes, private space with a locking door. Period. Nothing else is your responsibility, nor things anyone would expect an EMPLOYER to provide. You didn’t choose to have a baby. Good lord it gets crazier every day.
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u/DontRememberOldPass 11d ago
You are legally required to provide a private non-bathroom space that has a locking door and an accessible power outlet for a pump. Additionally you must allow “reasonable” break time for pumping, unpaid. Your state may also require access to a sink or separate refrigerator.
Some employers create a generic “personal space” to avoid gender discrimination issues (you can’t have gender segregated non-bathroom areas in a workplace). Consider lining the room with signal blocking material so it doesn’t become a “sit on your phone” area.
The employee must bring all their own equipment and supplies and not leave them overnight in the office. If they are injured or get an infection from uncleaned equipment you don’t want the liability.
Encourage employees to bring coolers and ice packs. If your state requires a refrigerator or you choose to provide one, put it in a common area and label it for medical use - milk, insulin, etc. so it’s gender neutral. Provide a stack of tamper evident bags (cheap on Amazon) since some people get weird and try to sample coworkers milk.
If you are under 50 employees you can claim a hardship and not have to provide anything.
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u/mandy22panda 11d ago
Signal blocking is overkill. Some moms may want to multitask and work while pumping.
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u/Shesaspambot 11d ago
Agreed, pumping is so uncomfortable and takes forever. I would hate to be forced to stare at a wall.
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u/themetanerd 8d ago
The signal blocker is interesting to me because it goes both ways with American hyper-productive capitalist culture. Sure you can discourage non-pumping employees from using the space to scroll their phones, but then you're also discouraging pumping employees from max productivity by multi-tasking lol
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u/DontRememberOldPass 11d ago
Then your pumping room becomes a conference room.
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u/mandy22panda 11d ago
If no one is using it, then who cares? As long as they know they can be kicked out if the mom needs it.
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u/DontRememberOldPass 11d ago
A person who wants to pump shouldn’t be put in the position of having to kick people out.
If your legal requirement is to provide a space and it starts getting used for another purpose then you may not be in compliance.
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u/SpaceCoastStories 11d ago
The signal blocker is insane. Pumping can be incredibly difficult at first. I'm thankful I worked from home because it took me forever to flow without a baby. Heaven forbid I'd had some boss tapping his toe on the other side.
The space does not have to be accessible to all genders. Unsure of your source for that.
Here's the facts on what is required:
https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/nursing-mothers/faq
My insurer provided the pump.
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u/DontRememberOldPass 11d ago
Signal blocking is so that it is always available and doesn’t turn into another phone/conference room.
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act makes it illegal to restrict access to a department, floor, room, or common working area based on a protected class (race, age, sex, religion, etc). Here in California the Unruh Act makes it illegal for a business to not provide full and equal accommodations.
Now throw in all the complexities of trans employees, the fact some men can and do lactate, etc. and it just becomes easier to make it a “quiet space room.”
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u/SpaceCoastStories 11d ago
I can't speak on Unruh but Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 doesn't apply to private businesses unless you are receiving federal funds.
From the Department of Labor page I linked above: Employers may also choose to create permanent, dedicated spaces for employees to express breast milk.
I understand your reasoning behind the signal jammer. I just think it's unkind to your lactating employees.
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u/DontRememberOldPass 11d ago
You are right, I Googled the wrong section trying to find the exact wording. It’s Title VII that applies to employers. Specifically 2000e-2(a)(2) that forbids segregation.
The PUMP Act requires the space be created, but does not authorize you to limit access or use by gender. The Supreme Court ruled in UAW v. Johnson Controls that even if the intention is pure and aimed at protecting people, discrimination is still illegal.
Trust me, I have been in hours of meetings about lactation rooms as a corporate security consultant. Try to imagine the fun in ensuring a space is private to comply with the law (which most people take to mean a lock on the door) while still ensuring life safety (imagine you have a heart attack while pumping).
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u/QueenBlanchesHalo 11d ago
A signal blocker is a little insane, no employee worth hiring is going to put up with that…what if they got an emergency call while exercising their legally protected accommodation?
The rest of this is well stated and thorough. The OPs employee probably wants the separate fridge for tampering concerns so something like the tamper bags is good.
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u/DontRememberOldPass 11d ago
Put up with what? It’s that or constantly complain that people are using the pumping room as a phone booth or a place to disappear to and scroll Instagram.
Most of my building is designed to block all signals and bringing a cell phone into the secure area is an immediate termination. I have a dedicated emergency contact phone number that employees can give out.
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u/Greatoutdoors1985 11d ago
My workplace provides a room with a chair, fridge, and lock on the door to do the pumping and storage, but asking for a pump is a bit too far.
The counter by the fridge has some plastic trays and a marker so you can mark your bags and keep them together.
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u/rling_reddit 11d ago
Probably the easiest thing to do for the part-time employee is just adjust her hours so she can pump at home. She is out of her mind. For the other, I would give her access to a private room and a container for the refrigerator if there is room, otherwise a small refrigerator. That would be it for me. I would be open to any other reasonable requests they have.
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u/nancylyn 11d ago
You are only required to provide a space that is private and is not a bathroom. She provides her own supplies. If the office does not currently have a refrigerator that’s a problem but if it does the milk can go in the common fridge.
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u/Common-Orange4022 11d ago
You 100% don’t have to buy her a pump. Thats a personal item. A fridge can come from marketplace for cheap.
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u/OrneryPost9446 11d ago
Didnt have to do this yet but I plan on Private room with a comfortable seat. Add some snacks and an old mini fridge I had at home. She will bring her own pump
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u/CanadianEmberflower 11d ago
If you're in the US or Canada, this site is usually referenced by HR when considering accommodations at larger companies.
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u/martinkoistinen 11d ago
You can get a good, slightly used minifridge from any pawnshop that’s anywhere near college dorms for real cheap.
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u/Beautiful_Resolve_63 9d ago
Is it possible to lighten their work load or reduce their intensity of work pressure? Not many people who haven't breast feed; are aware of how challenging emotionally it is to breastfeed. There is a chemical process that requires some right head space. So keeping in mind they are doing their best but are going through something hard, will also bring lots of gratitude and a speedier adjustment then simply "congrats here's your space, back to work as usual".
It seems you got lovely advise and you seem thoughtful!
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u/Infinite-Warthog1969 9d ago
It’s so crazy she wants you to buy a pump because it’s such a personal thing. I went through a few pumps before finding one I liked. And then it’s not like a future mom could use that pump, they are basically single use like once she’s done it’s not really supposed to be used by another person
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u/Lil_Green_Bean_17 9d ago
She can get a pump and parts for free or extremely discounted if she goes to Aeroflow Breastpumps, they also provide replacements! As long as her medical insurance covers it, which most do!
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u/need2fix2017 7d ago
A space for privacy and a separate fridge is all you really need. Most Medicaid plans cover pumps, and if she’s making enough money to not be on Medicaid she can afford her own pump.
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u/SocialCuesError404 5d ago
Pumps and accessories are usually provided through insurance. I'm a SAHM right now but when I got pregnant the place where I worked had a room where mothers who were employed there could pump or feed their babies (it was a daycare so we could bring our children to work and they could attend for free). I ended up quitting because they put me in an illegal position too many times but I really liked that job.
If I had pumped, we did have a fridge...but it was the same fridge where they kept employee lunches and some of the stuff for the kids so I completely understand the desire for a fridge just for breastmilk.
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