New York City Amends Its Lactation Room Accommodation Requirements

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Maria V. Martin

March 13, 2025

Pursuant to a recent amendment (Local Law 109), the New York City Human Rights Law now requires employers to distribute their written lactation room accommodation policy to employees upon hiring, to physically and electronically post their policy, and to provide employees with a certain amount of paid break time to express breast milk.  These changes take effect on May 11, 2025.

Who Is Covered?
Employers with four or more employees in New York City.

What Are Employers Required To Do?
Prior to the amendment, employers were required to provide to employees a lactation room and a written lactation room accommodation policy.  The lactation room had to be sanitary; be shielded from view and free from intrusion from others (but not a restroom); include an electrical outlet, a chair, a surface for placing a breast pump or other personal items; and provide nearby access to running water and a refrigerator.  In addition, employers were required to “distribute” to employees a written policy, which had to include a statement that an employee has a right to request a lactation room, the process by which an employee could submit a request, a requirement that the employer had to respond to the request within five business days, and a procedure when two or more employees need to use the lactation room at the same time.  Once an employee made a request, employers were required to provide a “reasonable break time” for an employee to express breast milk unless doing so imposed an undue hardship on the employer.  In the case of an undue hardship, the employer was required to engage in a cooperative dialogue with the employee to determine an appropriate accommodation.

Pursuant to the recent amendment, employers also must:

• Distribute the written lactation room accommodation policy to employees “at the commencement of employment”
• Make the policy readily available to employees by, at a minimum, conspicuously posting the policy in the workplace in an area accessible to employees and electronically posting the policy on the employer’s intranet, if one exists
• Provide 30 minutes of paid break time to express breast milk in addition to permitting an employee to use existing paid break time or mealtime for periods in excess of 30 minutes to express breast milk

Employer Takeaways
Employers should review their lactation room accommodation policy and procedures and, if necessary, revise them to comply with this amendment.  In this regard, the New York City Commission on Human Rights was tasked with developing a model lactation policy and this policy can be found on their website.  In addition, employers should also determine where to post their policy – both physically and electronically – to comply with this law.

This article is designed to provide one perspective regarding recent legal developments, and is not intended to serve as legal advice.  Always consult an attorney with specific legal issues.