Supporting Working Moms Act (SWMA)

Section 7 of the Fair Labor Standards Act requires employers to provide reasonable break time and a private, non-bathroom place for most hourly wage-earning (nonexempt) workers to express breast milk at work. Although it was intended to cover all employees, its placement within existing statute means that it does not cover millions of salaried executive, administrative, and professional employees, including teachers. While it provides protection and support for the most vulnerable workers, this distinction in the law was unintentional, causes confusion, and could be addressed with a simple amendment.

Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Representative Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY-12) have introduced the Supporting Working Moms Act (SWMA) to ensure a fair and uniform national policy by extending the existing federal provision to cover salaried employees, including elementary and secondary school teachers. The HHS Office on Women’s Health hosts Supporting Nursing Moms at Work, a comprehensive online resource providing businesses with cost-effective tips and simple solutions for all industries. Twenty-eight U.S. states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia also have state legislation to support breastfeeding in the workplace.

The Surgeon General's Call to Action to Support Breastfeeding; the Institute of Medicine report, Accelerating Progress in Obesity Prevention; and the National Prevention Strategy each call on employers to establish and maintain lactation support programs for their employees. Yet in spite of this tremendous recognition and recent expansion of support for breastfeeding moms in the workplace, only some moms are guaranteed this right.

House Bill Number: H.R. 3255

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Committee of jurisdiction: House Education and the Workforce, Subcommitee on Workforce Protections

Senate Bill Number: S. 2122

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Committee of jurisdiction: Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

Take Action

Submit a story about your personal experience with the federal "Break Time for Nursing Mothers" law
Use our online tool to write to your Representative and Senators
Share the campaign on Facebook or Twitter to tell your network to take action (coming soon)
Tweet at your elected officials to ask them to support the bill
National and state organizations are invited to sign on to a letter in support of the SWMA

Handouts/Resources for Visits

U.S. Breastfeeding Committee (USBC):

Help Working Families Stay Healthy: Ensure Workplace Accommodations for Nursing Mothers (fact sheet - 2017)
Lactation Accommodations in the Workplace (position statement - 2011)
Workplace Accommodations to Support and Protect Breastfeeding (background paper - 2010)

U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division (WHD):
- Statutory language: full text of the "Break Time for Nursing Mothers" law
- Fact Sheet #73: includes information on general requirements, time and location of breaks, and coverage and compensation requirements under the law
- FAQs: answers many of the questions about the law
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office on Women's Health (OWH):
- Supporting Nursing Moms at Work: Employer Solutions: online resource to support employers of breastfeeding women at work, searchable by either "industry" sector or "solution" type
- Business Case for Breastfeeding: a comprehensive program developed to educate employers about the value of supporting breastfeeding employees in the workplace
Institute for Women's Policy Research (IWPR):

The Right Call: Breastfeeding Accommodations under the Affordable Care Act (Quick Figures - 2011)
Better Health for Mothers and Children: Breastfeeding Accommodations under the Affordable Care Act (publication - 2010)

Supporting Working Moms Act (SWMA)

House Bill Number: H.R. 3255

Senate Bill Number: S. 2122

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Handouts/Resources for Visits

Related Materials

Relevant Cases / Real Stories

Prior Versions of Similar Bills