City Bill Protects Breastfeeding Mothers

Employers would be required to accommodate new mothers.

CBS Philly reports City Council is ready to pass a bill that strengthens protections for nursing mothers:

Under the measure, it would be against the law for a Philadelphia employer to not accommodate a woman’s need to lactate or express breast milk at work. That means companies must provide nursing mothers with the appropriate time and space to pump while on the job.

“No one would prepare a meal in a bathroom; therefore, women should not be expected to express milk in an unsanitary environment like a bathroom,” said Dr. Esther Chung, the medical director of the Newborn Nursery at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital.

A committee approved the bill Monday; it now heads to the full council for vote.