U.S. Department of Labor 

Wage and Hour Division 

 

 (Revised December 2010) 

Fact Sheet #73: Break Time for Nursing Mothers under the FLSA 

This fact sheet provides general information on the break time requirement for nursing mothers in the Patient 

Protection and Affordable Care Act (“PPACA”), which took effect when the PPACA was signed into law on 

March 23, 2010 (P.L. 111-148). This law amended Section 7 of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). 

General Requirements 

Employers are required to provide “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.” 

Employers are also required to provide “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.” 

The FLSA requirement of break time for nursing mothers to express breast milk does not preempt State laws 

that provide greater protections to employees (for example, providing compensated break time, providing break 

time for exempt employees, or providing break time beyond 1 year after the child’s birth). 

Time and Location of Breaks 

Employers are required to provide a reasonable amount break time to express milk as frequently as needed by 

the nursing mother. The frequency of breaks needed to express milk as well as the duration of each break will 

likely vary. 

A bathroom, even if private, is not a permissible location under the Act. The location provided must be 

functional as a space for expressing breast milk. If the space is not dedicated to the nursing mother’s use, it 

must be available when needed in order to meet the statutory requirement. A space temporarily created or 

converted into a space for expressing milk or made available when needed by the nursing mother is sufficient 

provided that the space is shielded from view, and free from any intrusion from co-workers and the public. 

Coverage and Compensation 

Only employees who are not exempt from section 7, which includes the FLSA’s overtime pay requirements, are 

entitled to breaks to express milk. While employers are not required under the FLSA to provide breaks to 

nursing mothers who are exempt from the requirements of Section 7, they may be obligated to provide such 

breaks under State laws. 

Employers with fewer than 50 employees are not subject to the FLSA break time requirement if compliance 

with the provision would impose an undue hardship. Whether compliance would be an undue hardship is 

determined by looking at the difficulty or expense of compliance for a specific employer in comparison to the 

size, financial resources, nature, and structure of the employer’s business. All employees who work for the 

covered employer, regardless of work site, are counted when determining whether this exemption may apply. 

 

Employers are not required under the FLSA to compensate nursing mothers for breaks taken for the purpose of 

expressing milk. However, where employers already provide compensated breaks, an employee who uses that 

break time to express milk must be compensated in the same way that other employees are compensated for 
break time. In addition, the FLSA’s general requirement that the employee must be completely relieved from 

duty or else the time must be compensated as work time applies. See WHD Fact Sheet #22, Hours Worked 

under the FLSA. 

Where to Obtain Additional Information 

For additional information, visit our Wage and Hour Division Website: http://www.wagehour.dol.gov

and/or call our toll-free information and helpline, available 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in your time zone, 1-866-

4USWAGE (1-866-487-9243). 

This publication is for general information and is not to be considered in the same light as official statements of 

position contained in the regulations. 

U.S. Department of Labor

Frances Perkins Building 

200 Constitution Avenue, NW 

Washington, DC 20210 

1-866-4-USWAGE

 TTY: 1-866-487-9243

Contact Us