Most employees who take maternity leave need to return to the workplace while they’re still breastfeeding. While both federal and state laws have been enacted in recent years to allow these new mothers the time and privacy they need to express milk while at work, not all employers make it easy for their employees to assert these rights. Further, there’s always room for improvement in these laws.
Illinois’ Nursing Mothers in the Workplace Act requires employers to “provide reasonable break time to an employee who needs to express breast milk for her nursing infant child….unless to do so would create an undue hardship….” It also states that employers “may not reduce an employee’s compensation” for these breaks, even if they’re separate from any regular breaks.
What new protections does the amendment provide?
This year, Illinois lawmakers added an amendment to this law that helps ensure that employees are paid for their nursing breaks. Here are some of the key changes, which take effect on Jan. 1, 2026, and apply to all employers who have more than five employees.
- Employers must pay employees for any time used to express breast milk at their regular wage.
- Employers can’t require employees to use any type of paid leave, sick time or other paid time off to be compensated for these breaks.
- Employers can’t deduct any compensation for time spent expressing milk or nursing a baby from an employee’s salary or hourly wages.
The law also requires employers to allow “reasonable” frequency and duration of these breaks unless doing so, as noted, would create an “undue hardship” for the employer, as defined under the law.
Why employees need to know their rights
While the law is strengthening protections for nursing employees, not all employers keep up with the law as they should. Even if they do, they don’t always provide the necessary updates to everyone in a managerial or supervisory position.
That’s why employees must know their rights so they can effectively protect and assert them. If that doesn’t work, it may be necessary to get legal guidance to help ensure fair compensation.
