Is your employer violating your breastfeeding rights unintentionally? It’s possible. When former President Joe Biden signed the PUMP Act into law, it was going to extend protection to nearly 9 million additional working women. It added to the protections the Break Time for Working Mothers Law offered.

One thing the PUMP Act provided was a woman’s right to sue her employer if it violated breastfeeding laws. In 2024, it was reported that around half a dozen class-action lawsuits involving nursing mothers were filed against major companies.

Find out what some of the common violations of breastfeeding laws are and see if your employer is violating your rights. We’ll explore some pregnancy and breastfeeding discrimination lawsuits, their outcomes, and clear up what your rights are in California.

Your Breastfeeding Rights in California Workplaces

Here are the pertinent Federal and California laws that protect your right to pump milk while at work.

FLSA/PUMP Act

The PUMP Act falls under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). It requires an employer to provide a worker with reasonable break time to express milk for a full year after the child’s birth. 

In 2022, the PUMP Act became a law and built on those previous protections. It now covers agricultural workers, home care workers and managers, nurses, retail and restaurant workers, taxi drivers, teachers, and truck drivers. 

The room for breast milk expression must:

• Be available when needed.
• Be excluded from security cameras or web conferencing cameras.
• Be private and free from intrusion.
• Have signs or locks to keep people from entering while a mom is using the room.
• Include a chair, electrical outlets, sink, and table or desk.
• Not be a bathroom.
• Not be visible to the public or coworkers.

If the employer cannot provide a refrigerator to store breast milk safely, the employee must be allowed to bring a cooler or other item for refrigeration.

California Labor Codes 1030 to 1034

Much of what is in California’s labor codes is the same as what FLSA and the PUMP Act cover. The differences include:

Employers must create and implement policies regarding lactation accommodation that include how to make a request, how they will respond to the request, and how to file a complaint with the Labor Commission if there’s a violation. Those policies are included in the employee handbook.

All responses to a lactation accommodation request must be in writing. They cannot be sent in an email and provided in a verbal response.

Common Ways Employers Violate Breastfeeding Laws

1. Bathrooms as a Lactation Room

When my first child was born, a local retailer expected shoppers and employees who needed to breastfeed or pump milk to use a sofa within the bathroom entry. It’s not enough. 

Even the cleanest bathroom is not suitable as a lactation room because it’s a high-traffic area. If people are barging in and distracting you, it’s a problem. That’s why bathrooms are not acceptable. If your employer is making you use a bathroom, it’s against the law.

2. Failing to Pay When the Working Mom Isn’t Relieved of All Duties

Your manager allows you to take time to pump breast milk, but you’re required to bring the work laptop and respond to emails while you’re in the lactation room. If you’re not fully relieved of duties during this break, you must be paid for it.

While breaks are often covered, it’s not a guarantee. Your employer cannot withhold pay, even if you’re also pumping milk and may be slightly distracted. You get paid for that time. 

3. Ignoring Remote and Traveling Workers’ Rights

Remote workers and those who work off-site or on the road are entitled to the same rights regarding breaks. 

Your employer cannot control what your accommodations are like when it’s time to pump milk, but they have to allow you to take as many breaks as you need. They cannot mandate that you be on the phone or a video call while also pumping milk.

4. Lack of a Mandatory Written Policy

Employee handbooks must include a written policy on how to request lactation accommodation. It must be provided to all new employees at the time of hire and again when a worker requests pregnancy leave.

5. Making Jokes

Do you have co-workers or managers making comments about how you’re taking another break or that you’re away from your desk so often that they forget you’re here? It’s not okay. 

This creates a hostile work environment. It can be damaging and hurtful. You might feel embarrassed and start taking fewer breaks. It’s not acceptable and should be addressed immediately.

6. No Written Response

California law requires a written response to a lactation accommodation request. If you don’t receive a written response, your employer is violating your rights.

7. Required Amenities Get Overlooked

If you’re given a room without a sign or lock, a chair, a table, a sink, and outlets, there’s a problem. Setting up a storage closet isn’t good enough. You must have a sink for washing up, a table for your breast pump, a chair to sit on, and outlets for your pump.

8. Set Break Times

Your employer allows you to pump breastmilk during your break, but you must take that break at 10 and 2. That’s not acceptable. If your breast fills up before then, you’ll be extremely uncomfortable. Break times have to be on your schedule. The only exception is if a break would be a hardship for your business.

9. Thinking They Don’t Have Enough Employees for the Laws to Matter

Sometimes, employers believe that breastfeeding laws apply only to companies with 50 or more employees. California law differs. Only certain industries are exempt when there are fewer than 50 employees, such as agriculture.

10. Wanting a Doctor’s Note

If your employer is asking you to prove you’re breastfeeding and need lactation accommodations by getting a note from your doctor, it’s not allowed. You don’t need a doctor’s note.

Success Stories From the Courtroom

From where you’re allowed to express breast milk to when you can, there are several ongoing breastfeeding discrimination cases in the nation. Here are a few that have recently made headlines.

EEOC v. Frontier Airlines

With the EEOC’s help, five pilots filed a complaint against Frontier Airlines for refusing to let workers pump milk while on duty. The airline settled with the pilots and the EEOC without admitting any wrongdoing. 

Going forward, pilots are allowed to pump milk in the cockpit during non-critical parts of the flight. They’ve also provided a list of lactation areas within airports.

EEOC v. Houston Funding

The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit overturned a ruling that pregnancy-related conditions ended as soon as a woman gave birth. The case involved a woman who asked her employer what accommodations would be available to her for pumping breast milk when she returned from maternity leave. 

At first, she was told to stay home longer. When she asked again, she was told they’d filled her position and fired her.

In the new ruling, the Fifth Circuit ruled that expressing milk is protected under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act and counts as unlawful sex discrimination. The court sent the case back to the lower court.

EEOC v. Roundy’s Supermarket

A bakery worker asked her employer’s permission to keep a water bottle at her station to maintain her milk supply. She was allowed to do so at her first store, but when she was transferred to another store, the manager refused and eventually fired her.

Hydration is essential for milk supply. Restricting a woman from water and beverages can lead to dehydration, which negatively impacts milk flow. She filed a complaint, and the EEOC stepped in. A pre-litigation settlement failed, so a lawsuit was filed in March 2026

Consult a Legal Expert on California Pregnancy Discrimination Laws and Protections

If you’re an employer with workers who may ask for accommodations to pump breast milk, it’s best to have a clear understanding of the nuances of these laws. Shegerian Conniff can help you draw up clear, legal policies and ensure you’re not making any mistakes.

If you’re a worker and believe your rights have been violated after requesting breastfeeding accommodations, call us. We’ll review your rights and advise you on whether to proceed. We can also advise you on how to start filing a discrimination complaint in California.