Oleg Albert

California employers must permit new mothers a reasonable amount of time to express breast milk (i.e., pump), unless it causes a “serious disruption” to the operations of the employer. There is no definition for what constitutes a “serious disruption.” Meaning, it is unlikely to be found to exist for a larger employer. Further, since the term is undefined, individual analysis is required to determine whether the break is in fact a “serious disruption” before it may be denied by an employer. Generally, this means that very few employers are likely to be found to meet this standard. LACTATION BREAK LOCATIONS An employer must make a reasonable effort to provide a private area to express breast milk. The area must be close to the employee’s work area and may not be a toilet stall. LENGTH OF TIME The length of the lactation break must be a reasonable amount of time. California law does not define what reasonable amount of time means, but federal regulations suggest that 15 to 20 minutes may

Is all workplace retaliation unlawful? Not necessarily. However, there are  many  Federal and California laws that prohibit employers from retaliating against their employees who report, oppose or engage in certain activities, otherwise referred to as “ protected activities ”. WERE YOU ENGAGING IN ACTIVITY PROTECTED BY LAW? “ Protected activity ” is a broadly defined term and encompasses many different types of behaviors by the employee. For example, some common types of protected activities consist of an employee’s formal or informal complaints to a supervisor about workplace harassment or discrimination, reporting unsafe or illegal working conditions to a supervisor or outside government agency, requesting a reasonable accommodation because of a disability, complaining about unlawful pay practices or opposing an employer’s illegal conduct. An employee’s threat to file a charge of employment discrimination with the EEOC, DFEH or another government agency is a “protected activity” and