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Bills from the 2021–22 session

Senate Bill 493

Requiring an employer to provide reasonable break time and accommodation for an employee who is breast-feeding the employee's child to express breast milk for the child. (FE)

Stopped in committee

It never got a ⁠, so it never came up for a vote. To try again, a lawmaker would have to start a new bill.

  1. Introduced, passed

    Aug 5, 2021

  2. Committee, stopped here

    Stopped here. No public hearing was held.

  3. Senate vote, not reached

  4. Assembly vote, not reached

  5. Governor, not reached

  6. Law, not reached

Latest entry in the official record, Mar 15, 2022: “Failed to pass pursuant to ⁠”

It never got a hearing in the Senate Committee on Labor and Regulatory Reform. See every bill that never got a hearing this session.

Read the bill

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What it would have done

Summary by the , the Legislature's nonpartisan drafting office. It's their wording, not ours.

This bill requires an employer, including the state, to provide the following for an employee who is breast-feeding the employee's child under one year of age: 1) a reasonable break time to express breast milk for the child; 2) a private place, other than a bathroom, for the employee to express breast milk; and 3) access to an electrical outlet, running water, and a refrigerator for the storage of breast milk. The bill permits that break time to be unpaid but requires an employer to treat such unpaid break time as paid work time for purposes of determining eligibility for health care coverage.

The federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires an employer engaged in interstate commerce, which is generally defined as an employer having an annual dollar volume of sales of $500,000 or more, to provide the following: 1) a reasonable break time for an employee to express breast milk for the employee's nursing child for one year after the child's birth each time the employee needs to express that milk;

Read the full summary

and 2) a place, other than a bathroom, that is shielded from view and free from intrusion from coworkers and the public that may be used by an employee to express breast milk. In addition, the FLSA permits that break time to be unpaid and provides that an employer that employs fewer than 50 employees is not subject to those requirements if those requirements would impose an undue hardship by causing the employer significant difficulty or expense when considered in relation to the size, financial resources, nature, or structure of the employer's business.

This bill codifies into the laws of this state the requirements of the FLSA with respect to reasonable break time for employees to express breast milk for their children under one year of age, applying those requirements to all employers, including the state, employing at least one individual. In addition, the bill 1) requires an employer to provide access to an electrical outlet, running water, and a refrigerator for the storage of breast milk; and 2) provides that if an employee's eligibility for an employer contribution towards the employee's health care coverage is dependent on the number of hours that the employee works, the employer must treat any unpaid break time taken by the employee to express breast milk as paid work time for purposes of determining that eligibility.

Who's behind it

11 senators are its ⁠. 8 are Democrats and 3 are Republicans.

28 more lawmakers ⁠.

See all 39 names

Authors (11)

Signed on in support (28)

What it would cost

State agencies filed a . Each opens as a PDF from the Legislature.

What happened

  1. Mar 15, 2022

    The session ended, and the bill died with it.

  2. Oct 12, 2021

    1 more representative signed on in support.

  3. Aug 11, 2021

    A state agency sent in its estimate of the cost.

  4. Aug 5, 2021

    Sent to the Senate Committee on Labor and Regulatory Reform.

  5. Aug 5, 2021

    Introduced in the Senate.

See the official record, word for word
  1. Aug 5, 2021 · Senate

    Introduced by Senators Ballweg, Johnson, Agard, Cowles, Carpenter, Jacque, Larson, Roys, Smith, L. Taylor and Wirch; cosponsored by Representatives Subeck, Tusler, Anderson, Andraca, Armstrong, Billings, Bowen, Brostoff, Cabrera, Conley, Considine, Drake, Hebl, Hesselbein, Milroy, L. Myers, Ramthun, Riemer, S. Rodriguez, Shankland, Shelton, Sinicki, Snodgrass, Spreitzer, Stubbs, Vining and Vruwink

  2. Aug 5, 2021 · Senate

    Read first time and referred to Committee on Labor and Regulatory Reform

  3. Aug 11, 2021 · Senate

    Fiscal estimate received

  4. Aug 11, 2021 · Senate

    Fiscal estimate received

  5. Oct 12, 2021 · Senate

    Representative Hong added as a cosponsor

  6. Mar 15, 2022 · Senate

    Failed to pass pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution 1

Terms on this page

Committee

A small group of lawmakers that looks at a bill first. Most bills never leave committee.

More in the glossary

Public hearing

A meeting where anyone can speak to a committee about a bill, or send written comments.

More in the glossary

Senate Joint Resolution 1

The session's calendar. Any bill not passed by its last voting day dies.

Official term: Failed to pass pursuant to SJR 1. More in the glossary

Legislative Reference Bureau

The Legislature's nonpartisan office that drafts bills and writes the summary at the top of each one.

Official term: LRB analysis. More in the glossary

Author

A lawmaker who formally puts a bill forward. The text itself is drafted by the Legislative Reference Bureau.

Official term: Author, coauthor. More in the glossary

Signed on in support

Lawmakers who back a bill without being one of its authors, often from the other chamber.

Official term: Cosponsor. More in the glossary

Cost estimate

A state agency's estimate of what a bill would cost or save.

Official term: Fiscal estimate. More in the glossary

From the Wisconsin Legislature's official record, checked Sep 15, 2026. See the source

Committee

A small group of lawmakers that looks at a bill first. Most bills never leave committee.

More in the glossary

Public hearing

A meeting where anyone can speak to a committee about a bill, or send written comments.

More in the glossary

Senate Joint Resolution 1

The session's calendar. Any bill not passed by its last voting day dies.

Official term: Failed to pass pursuant to SJR 1

More in the glossary

Legislative Reference Bureau

The Legislature's nonpartisan office that drafts bills and writes the summary at the top of each one.

Official term: LRB analysis

More in the glossary

Author

A lawmaker who formally puts a bill forward. The text itself is drafted by the Legislative Reference Bureau.

Official term: Author, coauthor

More in the glossary

Signed on in support

Lawmakers who back a bill without being one of its authors, often from the other chamber.

Official term: Cosponsor

More in the glossary

Cost estimate

A state agency's estimate of what a bill would cost or save.

Official term: Fiscal estimate

More in the glossary