Requires employer to provide certain accommodations to employee who is breast feeding.
Summary
Assembly Bill 4704 amends New Jersey’s Law Against Discrimination to expand and clarify workplace protections for employees who are breastfeeding or expressing milk. The bill states that breastfeeding-related conditions are covered under the LAD and specifies that an employer must provide reasonable accommodations to a lactating employee for as long as the employee desires, unless doing so would create an undue hardship. Those accommodations include paid break time at the employee’s regular rate, job restructuring, a modified work schedule, and a private location other than a restroom that is free from intrusion and close to the work area for expressing breast milk.
The bill also reinforces that an employer may not penalize an employee for requesting or using these accommodations, and that breastfeeding-related accommodations and leave may not be provided on less favorable terms than those offered to similarly situated employees not affected by pregnancy or breastfeeding. It further defines “pregnancy or breastfeeding” to include pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, expressing milk, related medical conditions, and recovery from childbirth. The measure is framed as a clarification of existing anti-discrimination law, but it adds explicit statutory language about the scope and content of required workplace accommodations.
Impact
If enacted, the bill would amend P.L.1945, c.169, the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination, by expressly adding and detailing breastfeeding-related workplace protections within the employment discrimination section. It would affect employers across the state by creating a clearer legal duty to provide paid break time, privacy space, and other reasonable accommodations to lactating employees, subject to an undue-hardship defense. It would also strengthen the legal basis for employees to bring discrimination claims if they are denied these accommodations or treated less favorably because of breastfeeding-related needs.
Sentiment
The bill text and statement indicate a supportive, protective intent, with the sponsor presenting it as a clarification and strengthening of rights for working mothers who are breastfeeding. No committee transcripts or recorded votes were provided, so there is no documented opposition or amendment debate in the supplied materials. Based on the introduced language, the overall sentiment appears favorable toward expanding workplace accommodations and reducing barriers for lactating employees.
Contention
The main potential point of contention is the scope of the employer obligation, particularly the requirement that accommodations be provided for as long as the employee desires and that break time be paid at the regular rate. Employers may also focus on the undue-hardship standard, the need to provide a private non-restroom location, and whether the bill creates new liabilities or expands existing ones under the LAD. Another possible issue is how the bill’s protections interact with operational constraints in smaller businesses or workplaces with limited space.