(a) Lactation Break. An Employer shall provide a reasonable amount of break time to accommodate an Employee desiring to express breast milk for the Employee’s child. The break time shall, if possible, run concurrently with any break time already provided to the Employee. Break time for an Employee that does not run concurrently with the rest time authorized for the Employee by the applicable wage order of the Industrial Welfare Commission may be unpaid.
(b) Lactation Location.
(1) An Employer shall provide a Lactation Location, other than a bathroom, in close proximity to the Employee’s work area that is shielded from view and free from intrusion from coworkers and the public. The room or other location may include the place where the Employee normally works if it otherwise meets the requirements of this Section 31.4. The Lactation Location shall also:
(A) Be safe, clean, and free of toxic or hazardous materials;
(B) Contain a surface (e.g., a table or shelf) to place a breast pump and other personal items;
(C) Contain a place to sit; and
(D) Have access to electricity.
(2) The Employer shall provide, in close proximity to the Employee’s work area, access to a refrigerator where the Employee can store breast milk and access to a sink with running water.
(3) Multi-Purpose Lactation Location. The Employer may satisfy the requirements of this Section 31.4 by designating a room as a Lactation Location that is also used for other purposes, provided, however, that if the Employer uses this method to provide the accommodation, the primary function of the room shall be a designated Lactation Location during the duration of an Employee’s need to express milk and during any particular day that the room is needed to provide accommodation it may also be used for other purposes so long as lactation accommodation takes priority. During the period when the room is being used as a Lactation Location and also for other purposes, the Employer shall provide notice to other Employees that the primary use of the room is a Lactation Location, which takes precedence over other uses.
(4) Multi-Tenant Buildings. Where more than one Employer is located in the same building, and the Employer cannot satisfy the requirements of this Section 31.4 by providing a Lactation Location within the Employer’s workspace, the Employer may fulfill the obligations under this Section 31.4 by providing a Lactation Location meeting the requirements of subsection (b) that is shared among multiple Employers, provided that the Lactation Location is sufficient to accommodate the number of Employees who desire to use it at any given time.
(c) Exemption. An Employer may establish an exemption from any requirement of this Section 31.4 if the Employer can show that such requirement would impose an undue hardship by causing the Employer significant expense or operational difficulty when considered in relation to the size, financial resources, nature, or structure of the Employer’s business. Examples of an undue hardship could, in some circumstances, include: requiring the Employer to build a room, undertake a construction project, remove seating from a restaurant, or remove retail floor space.