BILL ANALYSIS
SB 257
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Date of Hearing: June 9, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HEALTH
Dave Jones, Chair
SB 257 (Pavley) - As Amended: April 30, 2009
SENATE VOTE : 22-12
SUBJECT : Lactation accommodation: state employees.
SUMMARY : Requires every state agency and department, including
local offices, when notified by a female employee that she is
nearing maternity leave, to notify the employee, through its
usual channels of communication with state employees and in the
most cost-effective manner, of specified information regarding
breastfeeding. Specifically, this bill :
1)Makes a number of findings and declarations regarding the
benefits of breastfeeding to infants, mothers, and employers.
2)Requires every state agency and department, including local
offices, through its usual channels of communications with
state employees, when notified by a female employee that she
is nearing maternity leave, in the most cost-effective manner,
to notify the employee of the following information:
a) Information regarding lactation accommodation on the
Internet Web site of the Department of Public Health (DPH);
b) An explanation and comprehensive summary of the Labor
Code relating to the requirements of employers to provide
lactation accommodations and the penalties for violating
those provisions of law; and,
c) A listing of other comprehensive breastfeeding support
organizations and Internet links to their informational
materials.
3)Requires DPH to provide information regarding lactation
accommodation on its Internet Web site, and to include, at a
minimum, a link to the most recently published version of "The
Employees' Guide to Breastfeeding and Working," as developed
by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of
the United States Department of Health and Human Services
(DHHS).
EXISTING LAW :
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1)Requires all employers to provide a reasonable amount of break
time to accommodate an employee desiring to express breast
milk for the employee's child. Requires the break time, if
possible, to run concurrently with any break time already
provided to the employee. Requires break time for an employee
that does not run concurrently with the rest time authorized
for the employee by the applicable wage order of the
Industrial Welfare Commission to be unpaid.
2)Requires employers to make reasonable efforts to provide the
employee with the use of a room or other location, other than
a toilet stall, in close proximity to the employee's work
area, for the employee to express milk in private. The room
or location may include the place where the employee normally
works if it otherwise meets the requirements of this section.
3)Provides that an employer is not required to provide break
time under this chapter if to do so would seriously disrupt
the operations of the employer.
4)Provides that: a) An employer who violates any provision of
this chapter to be subject to a civil penalty in the amount of
$100 for each violation; and, b) If, upon inspection or
investigation, the Labor Commissioner determines that a
violation of this chapter has occurred, authorizes the Labor
Commissioner to issue a citation.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee analysis, this bill would likely have minor costs,
likely less than $50,000 from any single fund, for the
notification requirements in this bill, whether General Fund or
a Special Fund.
COMMENTS .
1)PURPOSE OF THIS BILL . According to the author's office, state
law currently requires all public and private employers to
provide a reasonable place and break time for an employee to
express breast milk, but many employees are unaware of the
law. When the workplace accommodation law was passed in 2001,
the Department of Personnel Administration sent out a
notification to all state departments and agencies about the
law, but, the author argues, it was left to each human
resources division within each individual state department to
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interpret the law in its own way as well as inform employees
of the law in its own way. According to the author, this has
resulted in a patchwork of accommodations and lack of
notification to employees about their lactation rights. This
contention is supported by results of focus groups conducted
by the California Women, Infants and Children's (WIC)
Association which found that mothers did not know about the
law and many did not feel they could ask for the
accommodations because they were afraid of getting fired or
were reluctant to make waves.
The author argues that by requiring state departments and
agencies to notify their female employees of lactation
accommodation laws, the state can take a leadership role in
informing mothers about their lactation accommodation options
in the workplace. The author states that SB 257 requires
notification of current lactation accommodation law within
each state department and agency's existing channels of
communication, meaning it will impose no new costs to the
state. The author maintains that this bill enforces existing
law in a non-punitive and educational manner.
2)BACKGROUND . According to the California WIC Association,
women with children are the fastest growing segment of the
workforce. Nationwide, nearly 55% of women with children
under the age of 3 are employed. Of working women in
California with newborns, almost half (49%) return to the
workforce before their newborn turns one-year old. In the
U.S. more than 70% of all new mothers nationally choose to
breastfeed. In California, the desire to breastfeed is
higher, with 86.6% of mothers initiating breastfeeding from
birth to give their babies important nutrition and health
benefits.
Current guidelines issued by DHHS, the U.S. Preventive Services
Task Force, the Academy of Breast-feeding Medicine, the
American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Academy of
Pediatrics, and the American College of Obstetrics and
Gynecology (ACOG) each recommend breastfeeding because it is
associated with numerous health benefits for children and
their mothers. Four of these professional groups recommend
that infants consume breast milk exclusively for the first six
months of life. Health benefits for breast-fed babies include
fewer ear, respiratory, and urinary tract infections and lower
incidences of obesity, type 1 and 2 diabetes, childhood
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leukemia, and sudden infant death syndrome. Breastfeeding
mothers with a history of lactation have reduced risks of type
2 diabetes and breast and ovarian cancer. All six sets of
national guidelines recommend that health providers provide
education and support to encourage mothers to initiate and
continue breastfeeding.
According to a booklet produced by HRSA entitled, "The Business
Case for Breastfeeding," workplace lactation services provide
an important return on investment for employers and employees
which include: lower medical costs and health insurance claims
for breastfeeding employees and their infants (up to three
times less for breastfeeding employees); reduced turnover
rates (86-92% of breastfeeding employees return to work after
childbirth when a lactation support program is provided
compared to the national average of 59%); lower absenteeism
rates (up to half the number of one day absences); improved
productivity; and, raised employee morale and loyalty to the
company or organization.
3)SUPPORT . According to the California WIC Association, the
sponsor of this bill, and supporters including the ACOG,
District IX (California), the California Commission on the
Status of Women, and the California Food Policy Advocates, the
lack of lactation accommodation in the workplace results in
the loss of experienced employees; greater use of sick time
and absences taken by both moms and dads for children's
illnesses; and, higher health care and insurance costs. All
supporting organizations maintain that breastfeeding is an
important and realistic need for many working mothers in
California and the lack of lactation support services in the
workplace can have broad fiscal and public health
ramifications for employers and employees alike.
4)RELATED LEGISLATION . AB 513 (De Leon) requires health plans
and those health insurers that provide maternity benefits to
cover the rental of breast pumps and lactation consultation
with an international, board-certified lactation consultant.
AB 513 is currently in the Senate.
5)PREVIOUS LEGISLATION .
a) SB 22 (Migden), Chapter 460, Statutes of 2007, requires
DPH to recommend training for general acute care hospitals
and special hospitals, as defined, to improve breastfeeding
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rates among mothers and infants.
b) AB 1025 (Frommer), Chapter 821, Statutes of 2001,
requires employers to provide reasonable unpaid break time
and to make reasonable efforts to provide the use of an
appropriate room for an employee to express breast milk for
the employee's infant child.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California WIC Association (sponsor)
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees,
AFL-CIO
Breastfeeding Task Force of Greater Los Angeles
California Association of Professional Scientists
California Commission on the Status of Women
California Food Policy Advocates
California State Employees Association
MCH Services, Inc.
The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecologists, District
IX (California)
San Bernardino County WIC Program
Santa Cruz County Breastfeeding Coalition
San Diego County Breastfeeding Coalition
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Tanya Robinson-Taylor / HEALTH / (916)
319-2097