I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 866 

To provide a lactation room in public buildings. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 30, 2019 

Ms. NORTON introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

A BILL 

To provide a lactation room in public buildings. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Fairness For 

5 Breastfeeding Mothers Act of 2019’’. 

6 SEC. 2. LACTATION ROOM IN PUBLIC BUILDINGS. 

7 (a) LACTATION ROOM IN PUBLIC BUILDINGS.— 

8 Chapter 33 of title 40, United States Code, is amended 

9 by adding at the end the following new section: 

10 ‘‘§ 3318. Lactation room in public buildings 

11 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


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1 ‘‘(1) APPROPRIATE AUTHORITY.—The term ‘ap2 propriate authority’ means the head of a Federal 

3 agency, the Architect of the Capitol, or other official 

4 authority responsible for the operation of a public 

5 building. 

6 ‘‘(2) COVERED PUBLIC BUILDING.—The term 

7 ‘covered public building’ means a public building (as 

8 defined in section 3301) that is open to the public 

9 and contains a public restroom, and includes a build10 ing listed in section 6301 or 5101. 

11 ‘‘(3) LACTATION ROOM.—The term ‘lactation 

12 room’ means a hygienic place, other than a bath13 room, that— 

14 ‘‘(A) is shielded from view; 

15 ‘‘(B) is free from intrusion; and 

16 ‘‘(C) contains a chair, a working surface, 

17 and, if the public building is otherwise supplied 

18 with electricity, an electrical outlet. 

19 ‘‘(b) LACTATION ROOM REQUIRED.—Except as pro20 vided in subsection (c), the appropriate authority of a cov21 ered public building shall ensure that the building contains 

22 a lactation room that is made available for use by mem23 bers of the public to express breast milk. 


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1 ‘‘(c) EXCEPTIONS.—A covered public building may be 

2 excluded from the requirement in subsection (b) at the dis3 cretion of the appropriate authority if— 

4 ‘‘(1) the public building— 

5 ‘‘(A) does not contain a lactation room for 

6 employees who work in the building; and 

7 ‘‘(B) does not have a room that could be 

8 repurposed as a lactation room or a space that 

9 could be made private using portable materials, 

10 at a reasonable cost; or 

11 ‘‘(2) new construction would be required to cre12 ate a lactation room in the public building and the 

13 cost of such construction is unfeasible. 

14 ‘‘(d) NO UNAUTHORIZED ENTRY.—Nothing in this 

15 section shall be construed to authorize an individual to 

16 enter a public building or portion thereof that the indi17 vidual is not otherwise authorized to enter.’’. 

18 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

19 at the beginning of chapter 33 of title 40, United States 

20 Code, is amended by inserting after the item related to 

21 section 3316 the following new item: 

‘‘3318. Lactation room in public buildings.’’. 

22 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

23 this section shall take effect 1 year after the date of the 

24 enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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