ATTORNEY AND SHAREHOLDER, JEFFREY B. HALBERT, ADVISES INDIANA NOW REQUIRES EMPLOYERS TO PROVIDE RIGHTS TO BREASTFEEDING MOTHERS

ATTORNEY AND SHAREHOLDER, JEFFREY B. HALBERT, ADVISES INDIANA NOW REQUIRES EMPLOYERS TO PROVIDE RIGHTS TO BREASTFEEDING MOTHERS

            Effective July 1, 2008, Indiana employers will be required, to the extent reasonably possible, to provide private locations for breastfeeding employees to express milk during break periods.  The new law requires the employer, if possible, to provide a refrigerator or other cold storage space for storing breast milk or to allow the employee to provide her own portable cold storage device for keeping milk expressed during the work day.  Under the law, a toilet stall is not a sufficient “private location.”  Although unspecified, the new law hints at potential penalties for an employer’s willful misconduct, gross negligence, or bad faith in either failing to provide sufficient facilities for breastfeeding mothers. 

            It is strongly recommended that employers take the initiative prior to July 1, 2008 to comply with the new law including designating areas within their facilities for use by breastfeeding mothers and modification of employee policy manuals.

            “For more information, or if you need to discuss the implications of this new law for your business, please contact Jeff Halbert at Stewart & Irwin, P.C, 251 East Ohio Street, Suite 1100, Indianapolis, IN 46204, 317-639-5454 or jhalbert@silegal.com.