Employment Law Now: III-47 - New York, New World
Puerto Rico has enacted a groundbreaking Lactation/Breastfeeding Code that consolidates in one statute the rights of breastfeeding employees and the responsibilities of employers across the Island. Signed into law on...more
Puerto Rico Governor Jeniffer González has signed Act No. 29-2025 into law, modifying the Act to Regulate the Breastfeeding or Breast Milk Extraction Period, as amended (“Act 427-2000”), which provides certain nursing...more
On June 23, 2025, Governor Jennifer González signed Act 29-2025, amending Puerto Rico’s Act 427-2000, “Act to Regulate Breastfeeding and Breast Milk Extraction Periods,” and strengthening protections for nursing employees....more
Effective January 1, 2027, SB 5217 expands Washington’s Healthy Starts Act (“Act”) to apply the law to employers of any size, require scheduling flexibility for postpartum appointments, mandate paid lactation accommodation...more
Key Takeaways - - A new law in Washington requires all employers, regardless of their size, to have pregnancy and postpartum accommodations in place for their employees by 2027. - The required accommodations include paid...more
California and federal laws require lactation accommodations for breastfeeding employees. The federal lactation accommodation law called the PUMP Act has many of the same requirements as the state law, however there are some...more
New York City employers are reminded that they are now required to physically and electronically post a copy of their written lactation accommodation policy...more
New York City employers will be required to physically and electronically post a copy of their written lactation room accommodation policy under recent amendments to New York City’s lactation accommodations law set to take...more
Effective June 19, 2024, New York employers will be required to provide up to 30 minutes of paid lactation breaks to employees each time an employee has a reasonable need to express breast milk at work. This change to New...more
In recent years, the United States has faced an epidemic of maternal mortality and worsening maternal health disparities and ranks well beyond its industrialized peers on these metrics. In response, many employers have taken...more
Balancing work and motherhood raises age-old questions for women in virtually every industry. Amongst these are how to navigate work during both pregnancy and the transition back to work after the baby is born, which present...more
Congress recently enacted two laws expanding workplace legal protections for pregnant and nursing employees: the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) and the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act (PUMP...more
In late 2022, President Biden signed legislation creating new protections for pregnant and nursing employees. The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), which goes into effect June 27, 2023, and the Providing Urgent Maternal...more
In December 2022, Congress enacted two new federal laws that protect employees and applicants who are pregnant or postpartum: the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) and the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing...more
Modeled after the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and enforced by the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission (EEOC), the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) was passed with bipartisan congressional support as a...more
Earlier this month, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont signed House Bill No. 5158, “An Act Concerning Breastfeeding in the Workplace.” Effective October 1, 2021, this legislation will expand the scope of an employer’s...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Some states are known for setting high legislative bars with respect to employment rights and protections (looking at you, California). The State of Georgia isn’t one of them. Earlier this month, however,...more
Oregon’s active 2019 legislative session has prompted the need for several policy and handbook updates for employers doing business in Oregon. This Insight provides an overview of the most notable recent employment law...more
California employers are in for a busy new year of evaluating their workplace rules and practices due to a sizable list of new laws passed by the California legislature for 2020. These new laws may affect daily business...more
To close out the 2019 legislative season, Governor Gavin Newsom signed dozens of bills into law, which will have lasting impacts for California employers. In addition to the summaries and clarifications from prior blog posts,...more
The Decree-law no. 108/2019, of August 13, published in Diário da República, introduced amendments to the Retirement Statute and created the new early retirement scheme. This decree-law reviews the early retirement scheme of...more
Following San Francisco’s lead, California will soon significantly expand the obligation of most employers to provide break time and a location to express breast milk. The new law, just signed into effect by Governor Newsom...more
Oregon passed several employment bills this year that will affect Oregon employers. The following article provides an update on the new laws and a list of tasks for Oregon employers to make sure that they are in compliance....more
• New York City (NYC) employers must provide nursing mothers with a lactation room with accommodations, including an electrical outlet, nearby access to running water, a chair and a surface to place a breast pump. • All...more
• The California Legislature passed numerous labor and employment bills that become effective on Jan. 1, 2019 • California's minimum wages and exempt salary thresholds increase on Jan. 1, 2019 • These laws were among the...more