New Indiana Law Requires Employers To Provide Private Area For Women To Breastfeed

Main Category: Women's Health / Gynecology
Also Included In: Pediatrics / Children's Health
Article Date: 19 May 2008 - 9:00 PDT

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An Indiana law scheduled to take effect July 1 requires employers in the state to provide a private place for employees to breastfeed, the Indianapolis Star reports. Under the law, businesses must provide a designated area for women to pump milk and a cold place for them to store it. Indiana is one of about 12 states to implement such legislation, Jake Aryeh Marcus, a Pennsylvania attorney who writes and speaks about breastfeeding laws, said.

Indiana's new law says that businesses must comply "to the extent reasonably possible." However, the law does not impose penalties on companies that do not comply with the law or include requirements for the space, other than that it be private. According to the Star, the original version of the legislation included stronger language, but it failed to garner enough support in part because of opposition from the business community.

Breastfeeding advocates said the law will help to improve the health of mothers and infants and save companies money by reducing employee turnover and absenteeism, the Star reports. "It really does save money for businesses," Tina Babbitt, education coordinator for the Indiana Perinatal Network, said, adding, "We want to help them realize how that will be." Surveys suggest that about 25% of businesses in Indiana have policies for their employees who are breastfeeding, Tina Cardarelli of the Indiana Perinatal Network said.

Ed Roberts -- the Indiana Manufacturers Association's vice president for human resources, labor, legal and political affairs -- said, "What we didn't need was for a business to have to dedicate a certain number of square feet of their property, particularly since it didn't make an exception for the fact that there might not be any lactating females employed there." George Raymond, vice president for human resources and labor relations at the Indiana Chamber of Commerce, said that officials should focus on informing companies about the law. "I just think it's going to come as a surprise to a lot of businesses, particularly small businesses" (Rudavsky, Indiana Star, 5/15).

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