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March 20, 2025
Effective July 1, 2025, New Hampshire will require employers to provide nursing employees with an appropriate location to express milk and unpaid breaks to do so. See N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§ 275:78–275:83.
Who Is Covered?
This law covers employers who have six or more employees working in the state. It does not cover individuals who volunteer services for a public, charitable, or religious facility without an expectation or promise of pay.
In addition, the law protects only nursing employees who notify their employer at least two weeks in advance of their need for breaks.
What Are Employers Required To Do?
Employers must provide “reasonable breaks” to nursing employees. These breaks are unpaid and consist of 30 minutes for every three hours of work performed for one year following the child’s date of birth. Nursing employees have the option of taking their break contemporaneously with a break or meal period already provided by the employer. In no event can an employer require nursing employees to make up time related to their use of these breaks. Furthermore, the law precludes employers from negotiating break periods that are shorter than as set forth above.
In addition, employers must provide nursing employees with access to reasonable and sufficient space (either temporary or permanent) to express milk for the child. “Expression of milk” is defined as “the initiation of lactation by manual or mechanical means, but shall not include breastfeeding.” The location must be a reasonable walk from the employee’s worksite, unless the employer and employee mutually agree otherwise. However, the location cannot be a bathroom, must be clean, and must be shielded from view and free from the intrusion of coworkers and the public. If the location is not used solely for expressing milk, it must be made available when nursing employees request it. Finally, if feasible, the location should have, at a minimum, an electrical outlet and a chair.
Finally, employers must adopt a policy to address the provision of reasonable breaks and appropriate space to nursing employees. The employer must make this policy available to its employees at the time of hire.
Exceptions
Employers are exempt from these requirements if they pose an undue hardship on the employer’s operations. The law defines “undue hardship” as “any action that requires significant difficulty or expense when considered in relation to factors such as the size of the business, its financial resources and the nature and structure of its operations.”
Penalties
If an employer violates this law, the employer may be subject to criminal and civil penalties.
Employer Takeaways
Employers with employees in New Hampshire should update their policies to address this new law. Employers also should make their policy available to employees at the time of hire. Finally, employers should take steps to comply with this law, in addition to federal law (for example, the federal PUMP Act), including training Human Resources personnel and supervisors on its requirements.
The author of this article, Maria V. Martin, is a member of the Bars of New Jersey, New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. This article is designed to provide one perspective regarding recent legal developments, and is not intended to serve as legal advice in New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, or any other jurisdiction, nor does it establish an attorney-client relationship with any reader of the article where one does not exist. Always consult an attorney with specific legal issues.
