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Current Legislation
SB420 Sec. 28.1
To the extent that money is available, the Director shall include in the State Plan for Medicaid a requirement that the State pay the nonfederal share of expenditures incurred for: (a) Supplies for breastfeeding a child until the child’s first birthday. Such supplies include, without limitation, electric or hospital-grade breast pumps that: (1) Have been prescribed or ordered by a qualified provider of health care; and (2) Are medically necessary for the mother or the child. (b) Such prenatal screenings and tests as are recommended by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, or its successor organization.
The Director shall include in the State Plan for Medicaid a requirement that, to the extent that money and federal financial participation are available, the State must pay the nonfederal share of expenditures incurred for lactation consultation and support (3) As used in this section: (a) “Medically necessary” has the meaning ascribed to it in NRS 695G.055. (b) “Provider of health care” has the meaning ascribed to it in NRS 629.031.
AN ACT relating to public health; requiring certain employers to provide reasonable break times and a place for an employee who is a nursing mother to express breast milk; prohibiting an employer from retaliating against an employee for certain actions relating to this requirement; authorizing a public employee who is aggrieved by an employer’s failure to comply with this requirement or for retaliation by the employer to file a complaint; requiring the Local Government Employee-Management Relations Board to provide for an expedited review of such complaints by local government employees; exempting certain small employers and contractors from this requirement; authorizing the Labor Commissioner to enforce the requirement against a private employer; providing a penalty; and providing other matters properly relating thereto.
(Signed into law June 1, 2017)
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a mother may breast feed her child in any public or private location where the mother is otherwise authorized to be, irrespective of whether the nipple of the mother’s breast is uncovered during or incidental to the breastfeeding.
(Added to Nevada Revised Statutes by 1995, 126)
On March 30, 2010, President Obama signed into law the Health Care Reform Bill. As part of this new law, several measures were included to protect the rights of employees who are currently breastfeeding their children, including mandating employers to provide breaks for nursing mothers.
The reform bill amends the Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S.C. 207, by requiring that an employer provide (1) a reasonable break time for an employee to express breast milk for her nursing child for 1 year after the child’s birth each time such employee has need to express the milk; and (2) a place, other than a bathroom, that is shielded from view and free from intrusion from coworkers and the public, which may be used by an employee to express breast milk.
This amendment does not require employers to compensate employees for time spent taking a “reasonable break” to “express milk.” Furthermore, this amendment does not apply if (1) an employer employs fewer than 50 employees and (2) the “reasonable breaks” 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.
With the inclusion of this provision in health care reform legislation, the U.S. joins the rest of the industrialized world in recognizing breastfeeding as the natural outcome of pregnancy, and workplace lactation programs as the natural outcome of a society where the majority of mothers and infants are separated due to work.
The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) was signed into law December 29, 2023 but became effective June 27, 2023. The PWFA gives workers the right to receive accommodations, such as light duty, breaks, a stool to sit on, etc., for pregnancy, childbirth recovery, and related medical conditions, including lactation, unless this would pose an undue hardship to their employer. Employers are now required to have a conversation with a worker seeking accommodations regarding the employee’s needs and the reasonable accommodations which could meet those needs. Employees are protected from retaliation under the law, which applies to employees of the federal government and private employers with at least 15 employees.
On December 29, 2022, President Biden signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, into law. The law includes the PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act (“PUMP Act”), which extends to more nursing employees the rights to receive break time to pump and a private place to pump at work and may impact some of the other information provided below. Under the PUMP Act, most nursing employees have the right to reasonable break time and a place, other than a bathroom, that is shielded from view and free from intrusion to express breast milk while at work. This right is available for up to one year after the child’s birth.
Nevada Employers
If you are a Nevada Employer and have not already done so, you are strongly encouraged to begin complying with the legislation above and establishing adequate areas for nursing mothers to take breastfeeding breaks for up to one year following the birth of a child. These nursing areas must be shielded from view and free from intrusion. Employers should also note that legislation does not set a limit on the number of breastfeeding breaks a nursing mother can take; it allows for a break “each time” the nursing mother needs to “express breast milk.”
If you have questions regarding legislation related to Nevada employers, please contact us.