Source: http://www.usbreastfeeding.org/workplace-guide-mt
Timestamp: 2017-12-11 02:14:29
Document Index: 118363676

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 39', '§ 39', '§ 49', '§ 39', '§ 39', '§ 39', '§ 50', '§ 49', '§ 49', '§ 39']

USBC : Workplace Guide - Montana
Guide to the Rights of Breastfeeding Employees in Montana
Purpose:This guide was developed to provide an overview of the laws that protect the rights of breastfeeding employees in Montana to express breast milk during the workday. The factors that are addressed and the level of protection provided vary widely from one law to another. The chart below details the Montana and federal laws that impact breastfeeding employees, and the protections those laws provide for each listed component. Components that are not addressed by the law are shaded in gray.
Where to Go for Help: Many breastfeeding coalitions provide support for employees and employers. See the Montana State Breastfeeding Coalition website or visit the U.S. Breastfeeding Committee Coalitions Directory for a list of all breastfeeding coalitions.
Mont. Code Ann. § 39-2-215 et. Seq Public employer policy on support of women and breastfeeding -- unlawful discrimination.
(1) All state and county governments, municipalities, and school districts and the university system must have a written policy supporting women who want to continue breastfeeding after returning from maternity leave. The policy must state that employers shall support and encourage the practice of breastfeeding, accommodate the breastfeeding-related needs of employees, and ensure that employees are provided with adequate facilities for breastfeeding or the expression of milk for their children. At a minimum, the policy must identify the means by which an employer will make available a space suitable for breastfeeding and breast pumping for a lactating employee, including the provision of basic necessities of privacy, lighting, and electricity for the pump apparatus. The space does not need to be fully enclosed or permanent, but must be readily available during the term that the employee needs the space.
Statutory language: full text of Mont. Code Ann. § 39-2-215
Montana Human Rights Act:
(6) The provisions of this chapter do not apply to a business or enterprise on or near an Indian reservation with respect to any publicly announced employment practice of the business or enterprise required by a contract or other agreement under which preferential treatment may be given to an individual based on the individual's status as an Indian living on or near a reservation.
Statutory language: full text of Mont. Code Ann. § 49-2-303
Rule Subchapter: 24.9.12: Administrative rules relating to maternity leave state that "disability as a result of pregnancy" includes any condition certifiable by a medical doctor as disabling, whether the condition arises as a result of the normal course of pregnancy, or as a result of abnormal medical conditions which occur in the course of a pregnancy, and may cover the time period beginning with conception through termination of gestation and a reasonable period for recovery therefrom. Disabilities as a result of a pregnancy, childbirth or related medical condition are for all job-related purposes, temporary disabilities and shall not be treated less favorably than other temporary disabilities under any health, medical, or temporary disability insurance plan or sick leave plan maintained by employer.
State: Montana Code Ann. § 39-2-215
State: Montana Human Rights Act
Breastfeeding women who are employees of state and county governments, municipalities, school districts and the university system.
Public employers must have a written policy supporting women who want to continue breastfeeding after returning from maternity leave. The policy must state that employers shall support and encourage the practice of breastfeeding, accommodate the breastfeeding-related needs of employees, and ensure that employees are provided with adequate facilities for breastfeeding or the expression of milk for their children. At a minimum, the policy must identify the means by which an employer will make available a space suitable for breastfeeding and breast pumping for a lactating employee, including the provision of basic necessities of privacy, lighting, and electricity for the pump apparatus.
No policy is required under the Montana Human Rights Act. However, no written or unwritten employment policies or practices whatsoever, whether formal or informal, shall be applied to disability due to pregnancy, on terms or conditions less favorable than those applied to other temporary disabilities. Disability as a result of pregnancy includes any condition certifiable by a medical doctor as disabling, whether the condition arises as a result of the normal course of pregnancy, or as a result of abnormal medical conditions which occur in the course of a pregnancy, and may cover the time period beginning with conception through termination of gestation and a reasonable period for recovery therefrom.
Breastfeeding-related needs of employees must be accommodated.
No specific time limit, but a reasonableness standard applies.
A space suitable for breastfeeding and breast pumping for a lactating employee, including the basic necessities of privacy, lighting, and electricity for the pump apparatus. The space does not need to be fully enclosed or permanent, but must be readily available during the term that the employee needs the space.
It is an unlawful discriminatory practice for any public employer to refuse to hire or employ or to bar or to discharge from employment an employee who expresses milk in the workplace, or to discriminate against an employee who expresses milk in the workplace in compensation or in terms, conditions, or privileges of employment unless based upon a bona fide occupational qualification.
There is no public enforcement agency for MCA § 39-2-215. However, violation of the law resulting in termination of employment could support a claim under Montana’s Wrongful Discharge From Employment. See MCA § 39-2-901, et seq.
Montana Human Rights Bureau.
To file a complaint call the Montana Department of Labor and Industry's Human Rights Bureau at 1-406-444-2884 or 1-800-542-0807 for an intake appointment. A person only has 180 days from when an adverse act happened (or when it was discovered) to have a written complaint filed with the Bureau. This time may be extended, but only in limited circumstances.
Montana Breastfeeding Coalition:
Mont. Code Ann. § 50-19-501 states that the breastfeeding of a child in any location, public or private, where the mother otherwise has a right to be is legal and cannot be considered a nuisance, indecent exposure, sexual conduct, or obscenity.
Montana Department of Labor and Industry: Legal Rights of Pregnant Employees
Mont. Code Ann. § 49-2-310 states that it is unlawful for an employer to terminate employment because of the woman's pregnancy, refuse to grant a reasonable leave of absence for the pregnancy, deny compensation to which the employee is entitled, or require a mandatory maternity leave for an unreasonable length of time.
Mont. Code Ann. § 49-2-311 states that upon signifying an intent to return at the end of a pregnancy-related leave of absence, the employee must be reinstated to the employee's original job or to an equivalent position.
This document was developed in partnership with the Montana Breastfeeding Coalition. Montana Code Ann. § 39-2-215 and Montana Human Rights Act content was reviewed by the Montana Department of Labor and Industry's Human Rights Bureau in December 2016. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act content is based on Equal Employment Opportunity Commission publications. Break Time for Nursing Mothers law content was reviewed by the U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division in May 2016.