Pregnant and nursing mothers often find it challenging to balance motherhood and their work. This can be especially true when employers fail to provide these women with the workplace protections that they deserve. That’s why it’s imperative that pregnant and nursing women understand their employee rights. Only then can they ensure that they are treated fairly in the workplace.
Protections for nursing mothers
Nursing mothers have extensive protections under Colorado law. To start, all employers, regardless of size, are required to give pregnant women reasonable unpaid break time in order to pump breast milk, so long as their child is two years of age or younger. Nursing mothers can also opt to use their paid break time to pump.
But the protections don’t end there. Employers are also required to make reasonable efforts to provide a private space for these women to be able to pump. The law also requires that employers make reasonable efforts to provide that private space in close proximity to the woman’s work location, and it should really be somewhere other than a bathroom. It should go without saying, but employers are also forbidden from discriminating against women for pumping while at work. This means that negative employment actions can’t be taken simply because a woman is exercising her rights under the law.
Has your employer violated your rights as a nursing mother?
A lot of times, employers don’t know how to navigate applicable employment laws, or they simply don’t care to do so. This puts you in a vulnerable position where you’re taken advantage of at the expense of how you want to raise your child. We don’t want to see that happen to you. So, if your employer is violating your workplace protections as a nursing mother, then now may be the time to take legal action.