Indiana Breastfeeding Bill Signed into Law
Starting July 1, 2008, a new Indiana law protects breastfeeding in the workplace. The law applies to businesses with 25 or more employees, as well as the state and political subdivisions of the state. Governor Mitch Daniels signed into law the legislation introduced by State Senator Vi Simpson. The enrolled act reads in part:
Chapter 14. Employee Breaks
Sec. 1. As used in this chapter, “employer” means a person or entity that employs twenty-five (25) or more employees.
Sec. 2. (a) To the extent reasonably possible, an employer shall provide a private location, other than a toilet stall, where an employee can express the employee’s breast milk in privacy during any period away from the employee’s assigned duties.
(b) To the extent reasonably possible, an employer shall:
(1) provide a refrigerator or other cold storage space for keeping milk that has been expressed; or
(2) allow the employee to provide the employee’s own portable cold storage device for keeping milk that has been expressed until the end of the employee’s work day.
(c) Except in cases of willful misconduct, gross negligence, or bad faith, an employer is not liable for any harm caused by or arising from either of the following that occur on the employer’s premises:
(1) The expressing of an employee’s breast milk.
(2) The storage of expressed milk.
Inside INdiana Business quotes Senator Simpson as saying:
Tags: breastfeeding, business, Indiana, lactation, law, legislation, Mitch Daniels, Vi SimpsonThis legislation benefits not only mothers and their children. It also benefits employers because women with infants are the fastest growing section of the labor force and breastfeeding typically causes lower healthcare costs for the mother and child. I’m pleased to see the governor agreed and signed it into law.
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9 opinions for Indiana Breastfeeding Bill Signed into Law
Aleah
Mar 1, 2008 at 8:30 pm
I am very pleased that Indiana has finally passed this law. I was only able to nurse my first son for the duration of my maternity leave which was only six weeks beacuse my employer a plastics factory had no sanitary place for me to pump. They told me to use a bathroom, and a factories bathroom isnt the cleanest place to pump. I recently had another baby and found another job that has been very cooperative in providing me a clean place to pump, but it is nice to found out that soon it will be a law for any other factory working nursing mothers!
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Mar 2, 2008 at 11:22 pm
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Brandi
Jun 29, 2008 at 1:06 pm
I am so excited to know that now I am protected in the fact that I can pump at work!!! How wonderful that Indiana now recognizes the importance of working mothers and their children’s needs!
kaylynn
Jul 8, 2008 at 12:23 pm
just in time! i had my baby may 12th a we-bit early but healthy. his needs always come first, im thankful that even when i return to work i can still take care of his needs. thank you for understanding the needs of our childern as well as ours.
Dianna
Jul 16, 2008 at 5:09 am
Fantastic! Now, who do we need to contact to get this passed across the river in KY?
Angela White, J.D., breastfeeding counselor
Jul 16, 2008 at 6:39 am
Dianna, good question! There are some breastfeeding laws on the books in KY — http://www.ncsl.org/programs/health/breast50.htm#k
You might check who sponsored those original bills and start a letter writing campaign asking them to sponsor a bill similar to Indiana’s.
Kentucky has several state breastfeeding coalitions:
http://209.85.141.104/search?q=cache:y_qWy6ELrv0J:chfs.ky.gov/NR/rdonlyres/0FA1896D-0968-44CF-8231-10B12DA563DD/0/KENTUCKYBREAASTFEEDINGCOALITIONS0108.doc+kentucky+breastfeeding+coalition&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=2&gl=us
You could contact them and see if anything is in the works or if any of the organizations is interested in helping sponsor a campaign to get such a law passed.
Michele
Sep 3, 2008 at 9:20 am
It’s great that a law was passed but some employers still harass mothers for pumping. The owner of my salon makes me clock out to pump and tells me i can go in the office to pump but i have to leave the door open. There are always people in and out of the back room so what should i do? She also told me i couldnt return to work without a doctors note because it was “a medical condition”. She’s from Kentucky.
Joy
Sep 25, 2008 at 6:18 am
Where does a breast feeding employee go for help if her employer refuses to follow the new law?
Angela White, J.D., breastfeeding counselor
Sep 25, 2008 at 7:02 pm
Hi Joy and Michele,
A good place to go for help would be a local La Leche League leader. Here’s how to find one in Indiana:
http://www.llli.org/Web/Indiana.html
A leader cannot offer legal advice, but she can offer information about the law, guide you to resources, and help you think through how to talk to the employer. She can also give information on the benefits to the employer (for example, babies of employees who breastfeed get sick less often and less severely, which results in fewer work absences for the m mother).
Here is an article on talking to your boss about why supporting breastfeeding is a good idea!
http://www.llli.org/Law/LawEmployment.html
Hope that helps!
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