Labor Code § 1031 has been amended by the California Legislature to make it clear that an employer must make reasonable efforts to provide an employee with the use of a room or other location, other than a bathroom, for lactation.[note] Labor Code section 1031 (2017) [/note] This brings the California Labor Code into compliance with the Federal Affordable Care Act, which specifies that the space for lactation purposes cannot be a bathroom.
If an employer is unable to comply with Labor Code § 1031 because it would result in an undue burden on the employer, the employer must still comply with the following requirements for providing a “temporary lactation location”: (1) the employer must be unable to provide a permanent lactation location because of operational, financial or space limitations; (2) the temporary lactation location is private and free from intrusion while an employee is expressing milk; (3) the temporary lactation location is used only for lactation purposes; and (4) the temporary lactation location otherwise meets California requirements concerning lactation accommodation.[note] Labor Code section 1031 [/note]
For agricultural employers to comply with this section, it must provide an employee with a private, enclosed and shaded location, including, but not limited to, the air-conditioned cab of a truck or tractor trailer.
