Illinois Now Requires Paid Breaks for Nursing Mothers
September 24, 2018
Illinois recently amended its Nursing Mothers in the Workplace Act to require employers to provide paid breaks for nursing mothers to express breastmilk. Now, an employer must provide reasonable break time to an employee who needs to express breast milk for her nursing infant child “each time the employee has the need to express milk.” Further, these breaks must be provided for one year after the child's birth. The break time may run concurrently with any break time already provided to the employee. An employer is prohibited from reducing an employee's compensation for time used for the purpose of expressing milk or nursing a baby. We recommend all employers have their Employee Handbook reviewed on an annual basis by SESCO to ensure compliance with all federal and state requirements.
