Due to the ongoing baby formula shortage, some new parents who might otherwise have fed their babies formula have decided to breastfeed them instead. However, for employees who breastfeed their babies, returning to work can be an overwhelming obstacle to continue nursing their infants.
Registered nurse Elaine-Marie Cannella, a director in the New York City health management practice of consultancy, WTW, told SHRM that often, people start to nurse, but then it becomes too stressful for them, and they decide to give up. She advised employers who are just beginning to focus on family well-being to support nursing mothers during those critical months after their return to work.
For instance, employers have found that lactation-support benefits help nursing parents stay productive and focused and are more likely to continue working. This kind of support from employers is particularly important for new female hires who are at an age when starting a family is a core issue.
State and local breastfeeding laws have additional mandates
Marshall Staton, director of HR for Aeroflow Healthcare, a medical equipment provider based in Asheville, North Carolina, said that her company had added lactation-support services for its employees, including access to lactation consultants and online classes for nursing parents.
Benefits that make the lives of nursing employees easier go beyond basic federal law requirements, under which employers covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) must provide private space and time required to pump. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), local and state breastfeeding laws often have additional mandates and may apply to companies with fewer than 50 employees.
For instance, the labor code in California requires that lactation rooms, besides a bathroom, include a refrigerator or cooler for storing breast milk and a sink with running water. Employers with fewer than 50 employees are only exempt from this particular law if they can demonstrate that these requirements pose an undue hardship to them.
New York City also requires businesses with at least four workers to provide a lactation space to breastfeeding employees and create a written lactation-accommodation policy, which must be given to their workers when hired.
Companies should support their nursing employees
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) offers some basic information on supporting nursing employees, with additional information given to employers in specific industries and work environments.
Kris Pender, chief HR officer of Hanscom Federal Credit Union, which has 22 branches across the United States, said that nursing is a relatively short period in a woman's life. Women make up 70 percent of the company's 250 employees.
Their operations centers maintain a dedicated room for pumping, with a refrigerator and a locking door. Pender said that mothers might pump without fear of being on view or interrupted and have a place to safely store their milk. She added that the organization also does everything to ensure nursing parents working at branch locations can access a private area whenever needed.
