In our continued commitment to providing a family-friendly workplace and supportive environment for all employees, additional lactation spaces have been designated in the following locations:
- Job Hall, 210
- Peggy Ryan Williams, PRW 059
- West Tower, 05
- Physician’s Assistant Building, located on the Ithaca Commons
Lactation rooms are located near a bathroom and are open and available for anyone to use.
New York State Policy on the Rights of Employees to Express Breast Milk in the Workplace (New York Labor Law 206-c) provides employees with time and space to express breast milk for nursing child(ren) up to three years of age.
Employees are entitled to reasonable unpaid break time upon request at least once every three hours to express breast milk. In addition, employees may use their paid break time or mealtime to express breast milk. Breaks and mealtimes should be scheduled during the normal or regular break and/or mealtime, when possible. The number of unpaid breaks an employee will need to express breast milk is unique to each employee and reasonable break times will be based on the employee needs. Employers are prohibited from discriminating in any way against an employee who chooses to express breast milk in the workplace.
Supervisors are responsible for creating a supportive environment for employees to transition back to work from a leave of absence. This may include providing flexibility so that the nursing parent can manage their nursing and lactation needs. Employees transitioning back to work from leaves of absences are responsible for communicating with their supervisor the date in which they are planning to return to work. Supervisors are responsible for assisting the employee with the transition back to work. Information about the lactation policy will be shared with the employee by the Office of Human Resources prior to the leave of absence during discussions related to upcoming leave.
For additional information on New York State labor law 206-c, please visit the Office of Human Resources website at: https://www.ithaca.edu/human-resources/lactation-rooms-ny-labor-law-206-c. Questions related to the policy should be directed to the Office of Human Resources at humanresources@ithaca.edu or 607-274-8000.