Yes, Texas Law Allows Lactation Breaks at Work

I know you were wondering, and yes, nursing mothers are allowed breaks by law in Texas to "express breast milk," according to Texas Law Help.

Breast Milk Breaks in Texas

Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, working breastfeeding mothers are required to be allowed personal breaks.

Exceptions to this are when employers have less than 50 employees working for them and if lactation breaks would put undue hardship on them at the workplace with less manpower, according to the Job Accommodation Network.

Texas legislation regarding the right to express breast milk at the workplace outlines the obligation of employers to provide a place, "other than a multiple user bathroom, that is shielded from view and free from intrusion from other employees," for new mothers to take lactation breaks.

How Long Are Lactation Breaks in Texas?

Texas law doesn't give a definitive duration for lactation breaks, but it declares that all breaks must be "reasonable," whatever that means.

It also doesn't say how many breaks are permitted from the employer. This means a mother can take as many lactation breaks as needed throughout the day.

When it comes to being paid, mothers in Texas will treat lactation breaks as any other break. This means that if their place of employment pays employees for small breaks, then they would be paid for expressing their breast milk during this time. Otherwise, this would be an unpaid break.

New Texas mothers can file complaints under state law if their job denies their lactation breaks, and employers cannot discriminate against an employee for spending their breaks this way in a private area within the workplace.