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Teachers and advocates urge state law to match federal Pump Act for workplace breastfeeding protections
Summary
Witnesses supporting Senate Bill 1030 and related House bills told the Labor and Public Employees Committee that Connecticut should align state law with the Federal Pump Act of 2023 to ensure flexible break time and appropriate private lactation spaces, particularly for teachers who lack routine breaks during the school day.
Advocates and a teacher testified the Labor and Public Employees Committee should align Connecticut law with recent federal protections that guarantee reasonable break time and private space to express breast milk.
Senator Jan Hockadel introduced testimony on Senate Bill 1030 and ceded time to Chad Cardillo, a social studies teacher at Maloney High School in Meriden and a local union leader. Cardillo described a colleague who left teaching because of difficulties finding time and space to express breast milk after returning from leave. "We know that even though it exists in federal law, we've seen over the past couple weeks that just because language exists in federal law, it doesn't mean the rights are going to trickle down to the states," Cardillo said, urging alignment of state and federal language.
Michelle Siegel (assistant treasurer) provided testimony on a different technical bill (HB 7046) but the committee then heard additional testimony on breastfeeding protections. Testifying by phone and in person, teachers described the particular scheduling realities of K‑12 education, where teachers often do not have repeatable break periods and must secure coverage for their classroom to pump.
Teacher Ashley Brooksbank, a high school social studies teacher, described pumping schedules and classroom coverage and urged that Connecticut not limit lactation accommodation to a worker's regular meal or break period. She recommended wording closer to the federal law, which requires "reasonable break time each time such employee has the need to express milk," rather than language that could be read to confine pumping to scheduled breaks. "As written, the Connecticut law does not seem to align with the realities of the needs of pumping in a less flexible workplace and could inadvertently limit employees' access to necessary accommodation," Brooksbank said.
Witnesses also asked for clearer language around private, non‑bathroom lactation spaces and refrigeration for expressed milk; several speakers emphasized the practical differences for elementary, special education and secondary teachers and urged the committee to adopt language that ensures flexibility and privacy in school settings.
The committee received testimony and did not take a final vote at the hearing.
