US Dept. of Labor offers guidelines on break time for nursing mothers

The U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division has a fact sheet out for employers and employees, explaining more about the break time for pumping mandated in the health care reform law. Here's an excerpt on the space requirements:

Employers are required to provide a reasonable amount of break time to express milk as frequently as needed by the nursing mother. The frequency of breaks needed to express milk as well as the duration of each break will likely vary.

A bathroom, even if private, is not a permissible location under the Act. The location provided must be functional as a space for expressing breast milk. If the space is not dedicated to the nursing mother's use, it must be available when needed in order to meet the statutory requirement. A space temporarily created or converted into a space for expressing milk or made available when needed by the nursing mother is sufficient provided that the space is shielded from view, and free from any intrusion from co-workers and the public.

Read the rest here.