
Breastfeeding Laws and Advocacy Resources
State – Breastfeeding Laws
Mother/Baby Friendly Workplaces
Breastfeeding at Work
ACR 155 / Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 155 Chap. 152
Introduced: | 09/01/1998 |
Author: | Maddox |
Summary: |
The State of California and California employers is encouraged to support and encourage the practice of breastfeeding, by striving to accommodate the needs of employees, and by ensuring that employees are provided with adequate facilities for breastfeeding and expressing milk for their children. The measure would also memorialize the Governor to declare by executive order that all State of California employees be provided with adequate facilities for breastfeeding and expressing milk. |
Jury Service: Breastfeeding
AB 1814 / Code of Civil Procedure – § 210.5 Chap. 266
Introduced: | 08/30/2000 |
Author: | Lempert |
Summary: |
The Judicial Court shall adopt a standardized jury summons for use, which must include a specific reference to the rules for breastfeeding mothers. AB 1814 created the law and directs the Judicial Council to adopt a rule of court to allow the mother of a breastfed child to postpone jury duty for a period of up to one year and that after one year, jury duty may be further postponed upon written request by the mother. |
Lactation Accommodation
AB 1025 / Labor Code Chapter 3.8 Sections 1030-1033
Introduced: | 10/13/2001 |
Author: | Frommer |
Summary: |
Employers are required to allow a break and provide a room for a mother who desires to express milk in private. CA AB 1976 (2018) requires an employer to make reasonable efforts to provide an employee with use of a room or a location other than a bathroom, for these purposes. CA SB 142 (2019) requires the room or location other than a bathroom to have prescribed features. Requires an employer, among other things, to provide access to a sink and refrigerator in close proximity to the employee’s workspace. |
Employment and Housing Discrimination: Sex: Breastfeeding
AB2386 / California Health & Safety Code § 12926
Introduced: | 09/28/2012 |
Author: | Allen |
Summary: |
The State of California and California employers is encouraged to support and encourage the practice of breastfeeding, by striving to accommodate the needs of employees, and by ensuring that employees are provided with adequate facilities for breastfeeding and expressing milk for their children. The measure would also memorialize the Governor to declare by executive order that all State of California employees be provided with adequate facilities for breastfeeding and expressing milk. |
Sex Discrimination: Pregnancy, Childbirth or Related Medical Conditions
California Code of Regulations Subchapter 6A
Introduced: | 12/31/2012 |
Author: | Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review |
Summary: |
A “condition related to pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition,” as set forth in Government Code § 12945, means a physical or medical condition intrinsic to pregnancy or childbirth that includes, but is not limited to lactation. Generally lactation without medical complications is not a disabling “related medical condition” requiring pregnancy disability leave, although it may require transfer to a less strenuous or hazardous position or other reasonable accommodation. |
Paid Family Leave
California Family Rights Act (CFRA) Paid Family Leave: Qualifying Exigency
Introduced: | 09/30/2020 |
Author: | Committee on Insurance |
Summary: |
This bill would revise those definitions for the purpose of the qualifying exigency provisions. The bill would define “military member” for the purpose of that term’s use in those revised definitions. |
Employment: Paid Family Leave
Introduced: | 06/27/2019 |
Author: | Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review |
Summary: |
Extends the duration an employee may receive Paid Family Leave (PFL) benefits from six weeks to eight weeks effective July 1, 2020. |
Mother/Baby Friendly Schools
Pupil Services: Lactation Accommodations
Introduced: | 10/09/2015 |
Author: | Garcia |
Summary: |
A school operated by a school district or a county office of education, the California School for the Deaf, the California School for the Blind, and a charter school shall provide reasonable accommodations to a lactating pupil on a school campus to express breast milk, breast-feed an infant child, or address other needs related to breast-feeding. |
Breastfeeding at Work
AB 2785 / Education Code § 66271.9
Introduced: | 09/30/2018 |
Author: | Rubio |
Summary: |
The California Community Colleges and the California State University shall, and a satellite campus of these systems and the University of California are encouraged to, provide reasonable accommodations on their respective campuses for a lactating student to express breast milk, breast-feed an infant child, or address other needs related to breast-feeding |
Baby-friendly Hospitals
Breastfeeding Education & Support
AB 977 / Health and Safety Code §s 123360-123365
Introduced: | 09/05/1995 |
Author: | McDonald |
Summary: |
All general acute care hospitals and special hospitals are required to provide maternity care to make available a breastfeeding consultant or, alternatively, provide information to the mother on where to receive breastfeeding information. |
Human Milk Banking
AB 532 / Health and Safety Code § 1647 Chap. 87
Introduced: | 07/02/1999 |
Author: | Lempert |
Summary: |
This bill would apply similar provisions to the procurement, processing, distribution, or use of human milk for human consumption./p> |
Human Milk
SB 246 / California Health and Safety Code § 1648
Introduced: | 09/26/2006 |
Author: | Figueroa |
Summary: |
A hospital that collects, processes, stores or distributes human milk collection from a mother exclusively for her own child is required to comply with the standards for collection, processing, storage or distribution of human milk by the Human Milk Banking Association of North America unless the department of health approves alternate standards. No screening tests are required to be performed on human milk collected from a mother exclusively for her own child. |
Hospital Training: Breastfeeding
SB 22 / California Health & Safety Code § 1257.9 & 14134.55
Introduced: | 01/04/2007 |
Author: | Migden |
Summary: |
Department of Public Health shall recommend a minimum eight-hour training to appropriate staff in general acute care hospitals that provide maternity care and have exclusive patient breastfeeding rates in the lowest 25 percent of the state. |
Hospital Infant Feeding Act
SB 502 / California Health & Safety Code § 123366
Introduced: | 10/06/2001 |
Author: | Pavley & De Leon |
Summary: |
This bill would require all general acute care hospitals and special hospitals that have perinatal units, as defined, to have an infant-feeding policy and to clearly post that policy in the perinatal unit or on the hospital or health system Internet Web site. This bill would require that the infant-feeding policy be routinely communicated to perinatal unit staff and that the infant-feeding policy apply to all infants in a perinatal unit. |
Hospital Breastfeeding Support
SB 402 / California Health & Safety Code § 123367
Introduced: | 10/09/2013 |
Author: | Pavley & De Leon |
Summary: |
Establishes the “Hospital Infant Feeding Act” and requires all acute care and special hospitals that have a perinatal unit to adopt the “Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding” of the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative, or an evidence-based alternative with targeted outcomes adopted by a health care service plan, or the Model Hospital Policy Recommendations as defined by § 123366. |
Community Support
Right to Breastfeed in Public
AB 157 / § 43.3 of the Civil Code
Introduced: | 07/14/1997 |
Author: | Villaraigosa |
Summary: |
A mother is allowed to breastfeed her child in any location, public or private, except the private home or residence of another, where the mother and the child are otherwise authorized to be present. |
Employment and Housing Discrimination: Sex: Breastfeeding
AB2386 / California Health & Safety Code § 12926
Introduced: | 09/28/2012 |
Author: | Allen |
Summary: |
Unlawful to engage in specified discriminatory practices on the basis of sex related to individuals’ opportunity to seek, obtain and hold employment or housing. Cal. Government Code § 12926 (2012) defines sex to include breastfeeding or medical conditions related to breastfeeding. |
CalWORKS: Welfare-to-Work Requirements
SB 252 / California Health & Safety Code § 11218
Introduced: | 10/4/2013 |
Author: | Liu |
Summary: |
An applicant or recipient of aid is entitled to breastfeed her child in a county welfare department or other county office. |
County Jails: Infant & Toddler Breast Milk Feeding Policy
AB 2507 / § 4002.5 of the Penal Code
Introduced: | 09/30/2018 |
Author: | Jones-Sawyer |
Summary: |
On or before January 1, 2020, a county sheriff or the administrator of a county jail to develop and implement an infant and toddler breast milk feeding policy for lactating inmates detained in or sentenced to a county jail that is based on currently accepted best practices. The bill requires the policy to include provisions for, among other things, procedures for providing medically appropriate support and care related to the cessation of lactation or weaning and for conditioning an inmate’s participation in the program upon the inmate undergoing drug screening. The bill requires the policy to be posted in the jail, as specified, and to be communicated to all staff persons who interact with or oversee pregnant or lactating inmates. |
Federal – Breastfeeding Laws
Mother/Baby Friendly Workplaces
Fair Labor Standards Act
Introduced: | 03/23/2010 |
Author: | Silvey |
Summary: |
Effective March 23, 2010, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act amended the FLSA to require employers to provide a nursing mother reasonable break time to express breast milk after the birth of her child. The amendment also requires that employers provide a place for an employee to express breast milk. |
TRICARE Moms Improvement Act
Introduced: | 04/28/2014 |
Author: | McCaskill & Capps |
Summary: |
TRICARE Moms Improvement Act of 2014 – Requires the contracts entered into by the Secretary of Defense (DOD) for medical care for military dependents (e.g., TRICARE) to provide for breastfeeding support, supplies, and counseling as appropriate during pregnancy and the postpartum period. |
Pregnant Workers Fairness Act
Introduced: | 04/29/2021 |
Author: | Nadler & Casey |
Summary: |
(Active Legislation) To eliminate discrimination and promote women’s health and economic security by ensuring reasonable workplace accommodations for workers whose ability to perform the functions of a job are limited by pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition. |
PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act
Introduced: | 05/17/2021 |
Author: | Maloney & Merkley |
Summary: |
(Active Legislation) To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to expand access to breastfeeding accommodations in the workplace, and for other purposes. |
Paid Family Leave
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
Introduced: | 09/17/2009 |
Author: | Rangel |
Summary: |
Effective March 23, 2010, this federal law requires employers to provide break time and a place for most hourly wage-earning and some salaried employees (nonexempt workers) to express breast milk at work. The law states that employers must provide a “reasonable” amount of time and that they must provide a private space other than a bathroom. They are required to provide this until the employee’s baby turns one year old. This provision was passed as Section 4207 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), which amended Section 7 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 207) |
FAMILY Act – Family and Medical Insurance Leave Act
Introduced: | 02/04/2021 |
Author: | DeLauro & Gillibrand |
Summary: |
(Active Legislation) This bill entitles every employee to a family and medical leave insurance (FMLI) monthly benefit payment of two-thirds of the employee’s regular pay, limited to a maximum of $4,000, for not more than 60 days of qualified caregiving. The bill establishes the Office of Paid Family and Medical Leave within the Social Security Administration to administer the FMLI program. An FMLI benefit payment must be coordinated with any periodic benefits received under a state or local temporary disability insurance or family leave program. The bill imposes a tax on employers, employees, and self-employed individuals to fund FMLI benefits It also establishes the Federal Family and Medical Leave Insurance Trust Fund to hold tax revenues. |
Mother/Baby Friendly Schools
Fair Labor Standards Act
Introduced: | 03/23/2010 |
Author: | Silvey |
Summary: |
Effective March 23, 2010, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act amended the FLSA to require employers to provide a nursing mother reasonable break time to express breast milk after the birth of her child. The amendment also requires that employers provide a place for an employee to express breast milk. |
Baby-friendly Hospitals
Safe Medications for Moms and Babies Act
Introduced: | 05/12/2016 |
Author: | Herrera, Beutler & Castor |
Summary: |
To provide for the establishment of the Task Force on Research Specific to Pregnant Women and Lactating Women, to require an annual report to Congress on approved new drug applications with information on pregnancy and lactation, and for other purposeS he provision was then incorporated into the 21st Century Cures Act and subsequently passed into law. The measure will establish a taskforce of federal and medical experts to advance research and information sharing on medication use during pregnancy and breastfeeding. |
Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act of 2021
ACR 155 / Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 155 Chap. 152
Introduced: | 02/22/2021 |
Author: | Underwood & Booker |
Summary: |
(Active Legislation) A bill to end preventable maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity in the United States and close disparities in maternal health outcomes, and for other purposes.. |
Community Support
Friendly Airports for Mothers (FAM) Act
Introduced: | 10/05/2018 |
Author: | Duckworth & Knight |
Summary: |
The FAM Act requires all large and medium hub airports to provide a private, non-bathroom lactation space in each terminal building.* The Act also requires airports to provide a baby changing table in one men’s and one women’s restroom in each terminal. This legislation was signed into law in 2018 and the requirements go into effect in 2021. |
Fairness for Breastfeeding Mothers Act of 2019
Introduced: | 02/14/2019 |
Author: | Norton & Daines |
Summary: |
This bill requires that certain public buildings that are open to the public and contain a public restroom provide a lactation room, other than a bathroom, that is hygienic and is available for use by members of the public to express milk. The lactation room must be shielded from public view, be free from intrusion, and contain a chair, a working surface, and (if the building is supplied with electricity) an electrical outlet. |
Friendly Airports for Mothers Improvement (FAMI) Act
Introduced: | 10/17/2019 |
Author: | Duckworth & Fischer |
Summary: |
The FAM Improvement Act extends the FAM Act’s requirements to small hub airports. This legislation was signed into law in 2020 and the requirements go into effect in 2023. |
Wise Investment in Our Children (WIC) Act of 2021
Introduced: | 03/18/2021 |
Author: | DeLauro & Casey |
Summary: |
(Active Legislation) To amend the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 to increase the age of eligibility for children to receive benefits under the special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants, and children, and for other purposes. |
Breastfeeding Policy Resources
In two formats: MS Word or PDF
A comprehensive list (addressing hospital care, prenatal and postpartum support, worksite lactation, child care, state and federal data and organizations), compiled with the California Breastfeeding Coalition, 2012
Learn from local WIC agencies and their breastfeeding promotion events, or connect with other organizations focused on breastfeeding support and advocacy.
- Local Agency Breastfeeding Celebration/Event Resources
- California Breastfeeding Coalition
- United States Breastfeeding Committee
Policy Papers
- Lactation Support for Low Wage Workers (2020)
- Opportunities for Nutrition and Breastfeeding Interventions Under Health Care Reform, 2012
- WIC WORKS: Policy Changes Raise Breastfeeding Rates, 2011
- WIC WORKS: Higher Breastfeeding Rates Can Reduce Obesity, 2011
- Making the Case for Breastfeeding: The Health Argument Isn’t Enough, 2010
- Talking about Breastfeeding: Why the Health Argument Isn’t Enough, 2010
- Increasing Breastfeeding in the Low-Wage Worksite, 2009
- Increasing Exclusive Breastfeeding in WIC-The Power of Peer Counseling, 2009
- Breastfeeding: The First Defense Against Obesity, 2006
- Overcoming Barriers to Breastfeeding in Low-Income Women, 2006
Local Agency Breastfeeding Events
Every year, local WIC agencies celebrate World Breastfeeding Week, National Breastfeeding Month, Black Breastfeeding Week, and more, with energy, creativity, partnerships, and fun! Here we share their event/activity descriptions and tips, so that you can get ideas for your own celebrations!
Click on a blue agency name below for event details and contact information.
To submit your agency’s event information, email Sarah or phone 916-572-0700.
- American Red Cross WIC celebrated Black Breastfeeding Week by hosting a special support group for African American moms and moms-to-be.
- Over 200 people joined Community Bridges WIC on their WBW Awareness Walk through Watsonville.
- La Clinica de la Raza WIC welcomed 50 moms to their first WBW events in Oakland.
- Montery County WIC offers helpful tips for organizing a breastfeeding awareness walk/event.
- CinnaMoms African American Support Groups at 5 PHFE WIC sites touched the lives of 114 people.
- City & County of San Francisco WIC offered training to child care programs about “Accommodating Lactation at Childcare Facilities.”
- Local elected officials recognized the efforts of breastfeeding moms at Santa Barbara County WIC’s WBW celebration.
- Santa Clara County WIC and partners staffed breastfeeding awareness tables in clinic lobbies.
- Shasta County WIC hosted a Diaper Derby and other activities at the public library. Watch their YouTube video!
- Nearly 20 partner organizations joined Stanislaus County WIC in their annual WBW Celebration, with 375 WIC participants attending.
- TriCounties Breastfeeding Coalition (Colusa, Sutter, Yuba) hosted a Big Latch On at the Yuba City Farmer’s Market.