I 
112TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2758 
To amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to protect breastfeeding by new 
mothers and to provide for reasonable break time for nursing mothers. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
AUGUST 1, 2011 
Mrs. MALONEY (for herself, Mr. MEEKS, Ms. LEE of California, and Mr. 
SERRANO) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Education and the Workforce 
A BILL 
To amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to protect 
breastfeeding by new mothers and to provide for reason-
able break time for nursing mothers. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Breastfeeding Promotion Act of 2011’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 
this Act is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
TITLE I—AMENDMENTS TO THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964 
Sec. 101. Findings; purposes. 
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Sec. 102. Amendments to title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. 
TITLE II—REASONABLE BREAK TIME 
Sec. 201. Reasonable break time for nursing mothers. 
TITLE I—AMENDMENTS TO THE 
CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964 
SEC. 101. FINDINGS; PURPOSES. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
(1) Women with infants and toddlers are a rap-
idly growing segment of the labor force today. 
(2) Statistical surveys of families show that 
over 50 percent of mothers with children less than 
1 year of age are in the labor force. 
(3) All major medical authorities recommend 
that mothers breastfeed exclusively for 6 months and 
continue breastfeeding for at least the first year of 
a child’s life, and that arrangements be made to 
allow a mother’s expressing of milk if mother and 
child must separate. 
(4) Research studies show that children who are 
not breastfed have an increased risk of common 
childhood illnesses, such as ear infections, eczema, 
and diarrhea and vomiting, and of more serious dis-
eases including severe lower respiratory infections, 
leukemia, and sudden infant death syndrome 
(SIDS). 
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(5) Research studies have also shown that chil-
dren who are not breastfed have an increased risk 
of a number of chronic diseases, including type 2 di-
abetes, asthma, and childhood obesity. 
(6) Exclusive breastfeeding and longer dura-
tions of breastfeeding are also associated with better 
maternal health outcomes, including a reduced risk 
of ovarian cancer and breast cancer. 
(7) The health benefits to children from 
breastfeeding translate into a decrease in parental 
absenteeism due to infant illness. One-day absences 
to care for sick children occur more than twice as 
often for mothers of formula feeding infants. 
(8) Congress intended to include breastfeeding 
and expressing breast milk as protected conduct 
under the amendment made to title VII of the Civil 
Rights Act of 1964 by the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to 
amend title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to 
prohibit sex discrimination on the basis of preg-
nancy’’, approved October 31, 1978 (commonly 
known as the ‘‘Pregnancy Discrimination Act’’). 
(9) Although title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 
1964, as so amended, applies with respect to ‘‘preg-
nancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions’’, a 
few courts have failed to reach the conclusion that 
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