Effective July 1, 2023, Minnesota’s new law requires employers to provide reasonable break times for lactating employees to express milk, regardless of the child’s age (it was 1 year). Break times must be provided even if doing so would “unduly disrupt the operations of the employer”. In addition, lactation spaces must be “clean, private, and secure”. A bathroom or toilet stall is insufficient.
The new law extends the scope of reasonable accommodations for pregnant employees to include temporary leaves of absences, modifications of work schedules or assignments, and more frequent or longer breaks. Employees returning from pregnancy leave are entitled to their prior position or a comparable role.
Employers must inform employees about lactation and pregnancy rights – the notice can be printed here. This includes notifying employees about these rights at the time of hire, when an employee asks about or requests parental leave, and by including a notice in the employee handbook. The notice must be provided in both English and the employee’s primary language. The Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry has issued a notice that can be used in English and the five most common languages in the state that you can find at the link above.