The Center’s Deputy Director, Liz Morris, submitted testimony in support of the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act (“PUMP Act”) to the House Committee on Education and Labor Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Human Services and Subcommittee on Workforce Protections Joint Hearing: Fighting for Fairness: Examining Legislation to Confront Workplace Discrimination. This bill would advance maternal and infant health and economic stability by ensuring working parents don’t have to choose between earning an income and breastfeeding.
As reported in the Center’s 2019 report, Exposed: Discrimination Against Breastfeeding Workers, nearly 9 million women of childbearing age are currently excluded from the protections of the Break Time for Nursing Mothers Law, meaning they have no clear federal right to receive break time and private space to pump milk during the workday. The PUMP Act would address shortcomings in the existing federal law by expanding coverage to all workers who need the law’s protections and ensuring remedies are available to employees whose rights have been violated, thereby encouraging widespread employer compliance.
Read the full WorkLife Law statement on the PUMP Act.
Video of the full hearing: