LAWS

Several months back,  I did a post about breastfeeding laws that mostly compared Georgia (USA) to Oregon.  I'm rewriting the post because I am so excited about the new developments this year.  It turns out Oregon's law was used as the model for the new federal provision effective March 23, 2010.  (Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act)

According to the United States Breastfeeding Committee's website, Oregon has the 'strongest and most detailed' legislation already in place and 'the new federal law will provide a minimum level of support in all states, but if an existing state law provides stronger protections, the state law will prevail.'

Basically the Oregon law says that a mother can breastfeed in public places, they are exempt from jury duty, and they are allowed unpaid 30- minute breaks during four-hour work shifts to breastfeed or pump.


More information about the Oregon laws on Breastfeeding Coalition of Oregon's Website.

And here's a link to Breastfeeding Laws State by State, so you can see what was going on in each state before this change took place.





While the laws went into effect right away, the Department of Labor is working to put the rules of enforcement in place.  Oregon law was signed in 2007.  From US Breastfeeding Committee's FAQ page, here are creative ways employers can comply with the law:

• Designated, permanent space, at least 4’ x 6’ with a chair, sink, and electrical outlet.
• Space designated with a sign or reserved on a calendar that rotates throughout the workspace between offices, conference rooms, clinic rooms, etc.
• Temporary use of manager office space in fast-food restaurants, police departments, or settings that lack other spaces with a locking door.
• A curtained-off area that is non-accessible to the public, and meets privacy threshold because of clear, well-communicated policy with co-workers. This can even mean a chair behind a curtain in an employee-only bathroom lounge, if there is truly no other space available.
• A designated space that serves employees from several employers, located in the employee-only areas of malls, airports, and retail strips.
• An agreement between worksites, where a breastfeeding employee can visit a neighboring business to access a designated space within.
• Privacy panels to block the windows of work vehicles such as patrol cars or construction vehicles on the road.
• Use of City or County buildings by public employees on route, such as police on patrol, bus drivers, or meter readers

And I guess this is my contribution to all the talk of nursing in public, or NIP that has been happening online.  :)  Cheers to helping moms and babies.