Senate Bill S8667

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  8667--A
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              January 7, 2026
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  CLEARE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be  committed  to  the  Committee  on  Labor  --  committee
   discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
   to said committee
 
 AN  ACT to amend the labor law, in relation to employee access to lacta-
   tion rooms in the workplace

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1. Subdivisions 2 and 3 of section 206-c of the labor law, as
 added by chapter 672 of the  laws  of  2022,  are  amended  to  read  as
 follows:
   2.  (a) Upon request of an employee who chooses to express breast milk
 in the workplace, an employer shall designate a room or  other  location
 which shall be made available for use by such employee to express breast
 milk.  Such room or other location shall be a place that is: (i) HYGIEN-
 IC; (II) in close proximity to the work area;  [(ii)]  (III)  well  lit;
 [(iii)] (IV) shielded from view; and [(iv)] (V) free from intrusion from
 other  persons  in  the  workplace  or  the  public.  Such room or other
 location shall provide, at minimum, a chair, a working surface, A REFRI-
 GERATOR THAT SHALL BE USED ONLY FOR PURPOSES RELATED TO LACTATION, near-
 by access to clean running water and, if the workplace is supplied  with
 electricity,  an electrical outlet. The room or location provided by the
 employer for this purpose shall not be a restroom or  toilet  stall  AND
 SHALL BE LOCATED OUTSIDE THE CONFINES OF A PUBLIC RESTROOM.
   (b)  If the sole purpose or function of such room or other location is
 not dedicated for use by employees to express breast milk, such room  or
 other  location  shall be made available to such an employee when needed
 and shall not be used for any other purpose or function while in use  by
 such  employee.  Employers shall provide notice to all employees as soon
 as practicable when such room or other location has been designated  for
 use by employees to express breast milk.
   (c) Where compliance with the requirements of paragraphs (a) or (b) of
 this subdivision is impracticable because it would impose an undue hard-
 ship  on  the employer by causing significant difficulty or expense when
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD07341-03-6
 S. 8667--A                          2
 
 considered in relation to the  size,  financial  resources,  nature,  or
 structure  of  the employer's business, such employer shall make reason-
 able efforts to provide a room or other location, other than a  restroom
 or  toilet  stall,  that is in close proximity to the work area where an
 employee can express breast milk in privacy. Provided, however,  nothing
 in this subdivision shall otherwise exempt an employer from the require-
 ments of subdivision one of this section.
   [(d)  If the workplace has access to refrigeration, the employer shall
 extend such access to refrigeration for  the  purposes  of  storing  the
 expressed milk.]
   3.  The  commissioner  shall  develop  and  implement a written policy
 regarding the rights of nursing employees to express breast milk in  the
 workplace  pursuant  to  the provisions of this section. Employers shall
 provide such written policy to each  employee  upon  hire  and  annually
 thereafter,  and to employees upon returning to work following the birth
 of a child.  EMPLOYERS SHALL POST SUCH POLICY IN A CLEAR AND CONSPICUOUS
 LOCATION AND IN THE EMPLOYEE HANDBOOK, TO THE EXTENT  THAT  AN  EMPLOYER
 PROVIDES SUCH HANDBOOK TO ITS EMPLOYEES, AND IN A LOCATION ACCESSIBLE ON
 EITHER  THE  EMPLOYER'S WEBSITE OR ON THE INTERNET ACCESSIBLE BY EMPLOY-
 EES. Such policy shall:
   (a) Inform employees of their rights pursuant to this section;
   (b) Specify the means by which a  request  may  be  submitted  to  the
 employer  for  a  room or other location for use by employees to express
 breast milk; and
   (c) Require the employer to respond to such request within  a  reason-
 able timeframe, but not to exceed five business days.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.