California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law Assembly Bill 1976, expanding California employer obligations respective to employee lactation accommodation. Under preexisting California Labor Code section 1031, an employer was required to make available a private location, other than a toilet stall, for an employee to express milk for an infant child, and provide employees with a reasonable amount of break time to do so. Recently signed Assembly Bill 1976 amends Labor Code section 1031 providing that the private location be a place other than a bathroom, when reasonable.

Assembly Bill 1976 also outlines when temporary lactation locations may be sufficient. An employer may satisfy its obligations under the section by showing that:

  1. Operational, financial, or space limitations render the employer unable to provide a permanent lactation location;
  2. The temporary location is private and free from intrusion while an employee expresses milk;
  3. While an employee expresses milk, the temporary location is used only for lactation purposes; and
  4. The temporary location otherwise meets the requirements of state law for lactation accommodation.

The amendment also specifically provides for agricultural settings. An agricultural employer, as defined in Labor Code Section 1140.4, must provide an employee wanting to express milk with a private, enclosed, and shaded space, including, but not limited to, an air-conditioned cab of a truck or tractor.

As amended, Labor Code section 1031 will press employers to make reasonable efforts to provide an employee with the use of an area, other than a bathroom, to express milk. The location is to be near the employee’s work area and afford the employee privacy. The area where the employee normally works may be appropriate if it otherwise meets the requirements set out in the statute. When an employer can demonstrate that providing a private area other than a bathroom would impose an undue hardship on the employer—when considered in relation to the size, nature and structure of the employer’s business—the employer need only make reasonable efforts to provide an employee with the use of a private area other than a toilet stall.

Assembly Bill 1976 was one of two lactation accommodation bills that passed both houses and made their way to the Governor’s desk. Yet Governor Jerry Brown vetoed Senate Bill 937 which proposed extensive requirements for lactation rooms.

Employers should reach out to the Jackson Lewis attorney they normally work with to evaluate their lactation accommodation obligations.

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Photo of Susan E. Groff Susan E. Groff

Susan E. Groff is a Principal in the Los Angeles, California, office of Jackson Lewis P.C. She advises and counsels management on various employment related issues and is Co-Leader of the California Advice and Counsel Resource Group.

Ms. Groff advises employers on complying…

Susan E. Groff is a Principal in the Los Angeles, California, office of Jackson Lewis P.C. She advises and counsels management on various employment related issues and is Co-Leader of the California Advice and Counsel Resource Group.

Ms. Groff advises employers on complying with federal and California requirements for disability accommodation and protected leaves of absence.

She also counsels employers on a host of other employment issues, including wage and hour laws, harassment and discrimination complaints, workplace investigations, reductions in force, and discipline and termination questions. Ms. Groff further conducts training and seminars on employment related issues, including sexual harassment prevention training.

Furthermore, Ms. Groff has extensive experience exclusively representing employers in labor and employment disputes. She has defended employers in employment litigation, including actions involving sexual harassment, discrimination on the basis of sex, age, race, religion, and disability, wrongful termination, and wage and hour matters, including class actions. Ms. Groff has litigated matters from inception through the appellate stage before California state and federal courts and represents employers in proceedings before state and federal administrative agencies and tribunals.