Pumping at Work Laws

By Ece · Founder of Idaho Jones, pumping mom
Reviewed and updated May 2026

Going back to work after having a baby can feel daunting when you're a breastfeeding mother who needs to pump. The good news: the PUMP Act, signed into law by President Biden in December 2022, dramatically expanded the rights of pumping moms. Combined with the older Break Time for Nursing Mothers Act of 2010, working moms now have meaningful federal protections to pump at work.

Here's what each law says, who they cover, and what to do if your employer isn't complying.

Break Time for Nursing Mothers Act of 2010

The Break Time for Nursing Mothers Act was passed by Congress in 2010 as an amendment to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

The law requires employers with 50 or more employees to give their nursing employees break time and a private space (not a bathroom) to express milk for one year after their baby's birth. The break time must be unpaid but does not have to count toward an employee's total hours worked each week.

What the 2010 law left out

The Break Time for Nursing Mothers Act was a step in the right direction, but it left many working moms unprotected:

• It only applied to hourly workers and didn't cover salaried employees. Women paid an annual salary weren't protected from being denied reasonable break times or pumping spaces.
• There was ambiguity about when employers could dock pay from breastfeeding mothers.
• It left moms who were denied the ability to pump without any meaningful way to enforce their rights.

The PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act of 2022

On December 29, 2022, President Biden signed the Fiscal Year 2023 Omnibus Spending Bill into law, which includes the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections (PUMP) for Nursing Mothers Act.

The PUMP Act expands on the Break Time for Nursing Mothers Act and provides even greater protections for working mothers who need to express milk on the job:

• It extends the protections of the 2010 Break Time law to nearly 9 million additional workers, including salaried employees and other categories previously exempted.
• It clarifies that any time spent pumping while working (a common scenario for moms who can multitask during pumping) must be counted as hours worked.
• It provides pumping mothers who are denied the ability to pump with the same legal remedies available for other FLSA violations.

The PUMP Act extends federal pumping protections to nearly 9 million workers who weren't covered under the 2010 law.

What to do if your employer isn't complying

If you suspect your company is not upholding your rights, there are concrete steps you can take:

1. Inform your employer in writing about their potential violation of the PUMP Act, and allow them 10 days to fix the issue.
2. If your employer fails to comply within 10 days, file a complaint with the Wage and Hour Division of the US Department of Labor (DOL). The DOL's website walks you through the process step by step.
3. Keep documentation. Save emails, text messages, and any written denials. If your situation escalates, that record matters.

The remaining gaps

The PUMP Act has some shortcomings: exemptions were made for the airline and rail industries, and small businesses with fewer than 50 employees still aren't required to comply (though many do voluntarily). Even with these gaps, the PUMP Act is a major step forward for breastfeeding mothers.

With these laws in effect, breastfeeding moms can return to work more confidently, knowing federal protections back them up.

From Idaho Jones

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