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Committee advances Tang ordinance to require employer lactation policies and lactation spaces; amendments to be refined
Summary
Supervisor Tang presented amendments to require employer lactation policies, designate OLSE for enforcement, and require lactation rooms in many tenant-improvement projects; the committee moved to amend and continue for further drafting after broad public comment from employers, health agencies and advocacy groups.
Supervisor Katie Tang presented Part 2 of an ordinance to require written employer lactation policies and to amend the building code to require lactation rooms or stations in new and renovated projects that meet specified size and cost thresholds.
Tang summarized the key elements: employers must provide written lactation accommodation policies to new hires and employees requesting parental or pregnancy leave; records may be retained in paper or electronic form; anti‑retaliation protections are included; enforcement would be handled by the Office of Labor Standards Enforcement (OLSE) with a required notice to correct before a violation; and building‑code changes would require lactation rooms or stations to meet minimum size, location and equipment standards. Tang said thresholds in proposed amendments raise the square‑foot trigger from 10,000 to 15,000 and raise the construction cost trigger from $500,000 to $1,000,000; rooms must be within two adjacent floors of the farthest employee workspace and include electrical outlets and, when plumbing work exists, sinks with hot and cold water.
Public comment included business stakeholders and labor/health advocates. Blake Peterson of BOMA (Building Owners and Managers Association) described working with Tang's office and the building industry and urged indexing cost thresholds to inflation; Julia Parrish of Legal Aid at Work and Preeti Rani (WIC program, Department of Public Health) voiced support and emphasized anti‑retaliation and outreach. Didi Workman of the Chamber of Commerce and others also supported the proposal and thanked Tang for adjustments to reduce burdens on small businesses.
Supervisor Tang said she had circulated a set of detailed amendments and moved to amend and continue the item so the City Attorney could finalize language and post it for public review. The motion to amend and continue was taken without objection; the committee set a continued hearing date and asked the City Attorney to post refinements online in the coming days.
What happens next: Sponsors will finalize technical edits with the City Attorney and return the item to the Land Use Committee on the posted continued date.
