Saratoga County moves to revise nursing-mothers accommodation policy after federal and state law changes

A county staff member reported to the Saratoga County Community Resource and Insurance Committee that the HR and insurance policy review subcommittee authorized changes to the county's nursing-mothers accommodation policy to reflect recent federal and state law changes.

"This pertains to legislation that was passed ... December of 2022, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 became law. And this legislation introduced the Pump Act for nursing mothers, expanding the rights for nursing employees," the staff member said, adding that in June 2024 "labor law section 206-c was modified to provide all employees with the right to pay break time for up to 30 minutes to express breast milk in the workplace." The staff member noted that prior to the June 2024 change that leave was not paid.

The staff member said nursing-room availability is handled at the departmental level: rooms are designated when a request is received, and must meet criteria spelled out in county policy such as a locking door and no visibility to the public. When asked "Where are the nursing rooms that we have now?" the staff member replied they are "designated by department, and there's specific criteria that's outlined in the policy that have to be met" and added, "I'm not sure how many we have currently. The way we handle it is when we get a request, we designate a spot."

The committee did not take a formal policy vote at this meeting; the subcommittee's prior authorization to staff (identified in the meeting as "Brady") was described as the directive to draft policy updates so department heads and employees are made aware of their rights under the amended law.

Staff said updates will make department heads and employees aware of required accommodations and the county's procedures for designating spaces when employees request them.