New York requiring paid break time for moms who need to pump breast milk at work, under new law

ALBANY, N.Y. — New York mothers who return to work after giving birth will now get paid breaks when they have to pump breast milk at work, under a new law that went into effect Wednesday.

Governor Kathy Hochul said the law requires employers in the state to provide a half-hour paid break to employees who need to express breast milk, for up to three years after giving birth.

“As New York’s first Mother Governor, I fight every day to provide working parents with the protections they need to keep their families strong and healthy,” Hochul said in a news release.

Employers are obliged to inform their employees about paid breaks. The law applies to all public and private employers in the state. The break time for expressing breast milk cannot be deducted from an employee’s existing meal break or other paid break, according to state rules.