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Committee advances bill clarifying lactation accommodations; senators seek time limits
Summary
Senate Bill 2689, which would clarify that lactating employees are entitled to accommodations and paid break time for milk expression, was released from the Senate Labor Committee after discussion about whether accommodations should be indefinite; several senators asked for a defined timeframe and alignment with federal standards.
Senate Bill 2689, read in committee on March 2, would clarify protections for lactating employees by requiring employers to provide accommodations — including reasonable break time paid at the employee's regular rate of compensation, job restructuring and modified schedules for milk expression — for as long as the employee desires.
Representatives of the New Jersey Business & Industry Association asked for amendments to make the bill operationally workable for employers of all sizes, proposing a defined time frame for required accommodations, clearer parameters for job restructuring and alignment with federal standards on paid breaks. Jack Kelly of NJBIA told the committee the association will follow up with written language to address those concerns.
Several senators said they supported advancing the bill to the floor but were uncomfortable with an apparently unlimited accommodation. "I don't know how long," one senator said, expressing concern that the bill as written could imply indefinite accommodations; another senator said there should be "some cap on this," while also noting the need to accommodate employees.
The committee voted to release the bill as amended and instructed staff and sponsors to resolve specific time-frame and statutory-alignment questions before floor consideration.
