AB 1166

The federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), as amended by the 2023 Consolidated Appropriations Act, requires an employer 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 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 allows that break time to be unpaid, unless the employee is not completely relieved from duty during the entirety of the break. The FLSA also provides that an employer that employs fewer than 50 employees is exempt from these requirements if the 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 and applies 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. An employer employing fewer than 50 employees is exempt from these requirements if the employer can demonstrate that compliance with the requirements would pose an undue hardship on the employer’s business.