The PUMP Act and how it will impact employers with Attorney Travis Hollifield

Attorney Tom Olsen: While we're on the topic of pregnancy in the workplace, tell us about workplace lactation and pumping issues.

Attorney Travis Hollifield: There's another new statute, Tom, called the PUMP Act, P-U-M-P, PUMP Act, which is again, another relatively new federal statute that requires employers to provide some fairly simple, but nevertheless important, accommodations to women that are lactating and need to express breast milk during the working day. The hallmark of this statute requires a private room that is not a bathroom that will allow a woman who is lactating and needs to express breast milk the opportunity to have privacy in order to perform that function.

Tom: That's for anybody with 15 or more employees?

Travis: That's correct.

Tom: Oh boy. On a day-to-day issue, on a day-to-day basis, Travis, how often is somebody calling you about that issue?

Travis: That one, not so much. Although I have handled those claims and there can be some difficulty with people who are what I would call on-the-road workers, workers who travel quite a bit in their car or other modes of transportation. There can be some complicating issues with that. For a traditional office worker, it is a fairly rare claim, but again, this is a new statute that it's only been on the books and enforceable for a year. Time will tell whether or not there's going to be a culture clash between employers and employees that need these kinds of accommodations.

Tom: Hey folks, my guest today is attorney Travis Hollifield. He's an employment law attorney in Winter Park. He represents clients throughout the state of Florida. We're going to take a break. We'll be back in just a few minutes. My name is Tom Olson. The name of the show is Olson on Law. You're listening to WDBO.

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