Everything You Wanted to Know About Work Pump Breaks & Getting Prepared
The end of your maternity leave is drawing to a close. And you have butterflies in your stomach, anticipating discussing your workplace pumping hopes with your supervisor. Not to worry! We’ll help you figure out what federal and state laws have to say about pumping breaks at your work setting. We’ll also help you develop an initial return-to-work pumping plan to share with your employer. Then, you can feel more confident and prepared to meet your baby’s feeding needs in the workdays ahead.
Federal U.S. pumping law, in a nutshell
The Providing Urgent Maternal Protections (PUMP) for Nursing Mothers Act which was initially signed into law December 29, 2022, is the key federal law about pumping at work. It is an extension of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), and it covers most workers nationwide. The law ensures a reasonable break time to express breast milk for one year after a child’s birth. It also ensures a clean, private space – not a bathroom – in which to express breast milk whenever pumping is needed. The PUMP Act clarifies: that means a space “that is shielded from view and free from intrusion from coworkers and the public…”
Pump breaks must be paid if an employee is not entirely relieved from work during a given pumping session – for example, a teacher who is grading student papers while pumping should legally be paid for that time. Also, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, under the FLSA “...when employers provide paid breaks, an employee who uses such break time to pump breast milk must be compensated in the same way that other employees are compensated for break time.”
While most private and public employment is covered under FLSA and the PUMP Act, unfortunately, a few job types are exempt – such as some small employers who can adequately show that a hardship would exist to comply with the federal law. Also, the U.S. Department of Labor says, “Certain employees of airlines are exempt from pump at work protections of the FLSA.” and “Certain employees of railroads and motorcoach carriers are also currently not covered but will be covered with certain exemptions beginning on December 29, 2025.”
If you are unsure whether your employer or job type has any pump break-related exemptions from FLSA and the Pump Act, go to the U.S. Department of Labor’s “FLSA Protections to Pump at Work” webpage and then click on the “Pump at Work General Guidance” tab. You may also call the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division helpline at 1-866-487-9243, or make an inquiry through their web form at Wage and Hour Division General Inquiry Form.
In addition, if you need “reasonable accommodations” for break time or space for pumping that will not cause your U.S. employer much difficulty or expense, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act is your friend and like a close cousin to the Pump Act. The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act applies to employers with 15 or more employees, including employment offices. For general questions about the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, contact the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission at 1-800-669-4000.
State laws, for added pumping protection
Some U.S. states have additional employee pumping protections beyond what federal laws require. Whenever a state law is more generous in coverage, the state law can give you more protection than federal law. For example, WorkLife Law says Washington state pays postpartum workers at their regular pay rate for pumping breaks, and National Law Review says New York employees “may take up to 30 minutes of paid break time each time they need to pump and may use existing break or meal time for lactation breaks that last longer than 30 minutes.”
To research if your state’s laws have additional protections for pumping breaks at work beyond what the federal laws say, visit Center for WorkLife Law’s Pregnant@Work: Workplace Lactation Laws webpage as a starting place. If you have any questions about your lactation-related rights in the United States, you may also contact the Center for WorkLife Law’s free hotline by phone at 415-703-8276 or by email at hotline@worklifelaw.org.
Preparing to transition baby to expressed breast milk
Probably the most common question lactation consultants receive about return-to-work after maternity leave is: “How much milk do I need available for my baby when I’m away at work?”
If your baby is between 1 and 6 months old, then the average baby that age is taking in about 25-30 oz. in a 24-hour period (Source:
Breastfeeding Answers: A Guide for Helping Families, Second Edition, by Nancy Mohrbacher, IBCLC, FILCA, pages 643-647). How do you compute what you need for a single workday, assuming that you are planning to breastfeed whenever reunited with your sweetie? To figure out the magic number of workday ounces needed, Mohrbacher recommends in her book taking 30oz and multiplying that by the portion of the day that someone other than you is feeding your baby. For example, if you are gone for work 8 hours in a day (including travel time to and from work), then that is one-third of a 24-hour day. Thirty ounces multiplied by one-third equals 10 oz., which means you need 10oz. of breast milk ready for an 8-hour day away.
If your breastfed baby is older than six months but not yet one year old, and is on solid foods as well as breast milk, then naturally the volume of stored breast milk needed for the same 8-hour day away would be reduced depending on the amount of daily food consumed – with breast milk remaining the primary nutrition source. As a general rule of thumb, the CDC recommends giving babies 6 to 12 months old “something to eat or drink every 2 to 3 hours, or 5 or 6 times a day” for a 24-hour day.
Storing some breast milk in advance of your first day back at work will put your mind at ease. Having available at least four workdays’ worth of breast milk, if not more, is often good peace-of-mind assurance, but do what makes you most comfortable. If you find your freezer just cannot hold that much breast milk because it is already nearly full with food for the whole family, don’t despair! Reasons like this are why Milkify’s breast milk freeze-drying service, which converts your own breast milk into a shelf-stable powder, was created.
If you are not returning to work until a few months postpartum, then some providers think waiting until your baby is between 3 to 4 weeks old, after breastfeeding is well established, is best for introduction of an occasional bottle of expressed breast milk when you are away from your baby. Keep in mind: it is a wise idea to pump whenever bottled breast milk feeds are offered to your baby in order to maintain your milk production levels.
If you are waiting until six months (or later) postpartum to return to work, you might be able to skip the bottle stage entirely and transition directly to a sippy cup or regular cup when returning to work. Helping your baby practice with a cup before you return to work will help you feel more confident that your baby is able to take in enough instead of just drenching his cute outfit in breast milk.
Calculating your pump break times
Next, you need to determine the ideal number of times to pump each workday – and the expected duration of each work pump session.
The number of workplace pumping sessions that you’ll need to keep up your milk production will vary depending on your breast storage capacity, which differs from one person to another, and affects how long you can go between expressions of milk without negatively impacting your milk production level. It is also dependent on whether or not your baby is exclusively fed your breast milk, and on the number of hours that you are away from your baby where others could be feeding the baby your breast milk. (Source:
Breastfeeding Answers: A Guide for Helping Families, Second Edition, by Nancy Mohrbacher, IBCLC, FILCA, page 645)
As far as duration of each pumping session is concerned, if you have a double electric pump or a wearable pump that works both breasts at the same time, then plan for at least 15 minutes to pump, plus additional time for cleaning pump parts and for travel to and from your work setting’s pumping room. On the other hand, if you have a manual or other pump that only expresses one breast at a time, you’ll need about 30 minutes for pumping, plus additional time for cleaning pump parts and for travel to and from your work setting’s pumping room.
If you frequently travel for work, you can find lactation pods in which to pump by using Mamava’s free app, available on the Apple App Store or on Google Play. Anticipating the exact pumping locations on your work travels will then help you determine your total pump break time to ask for; just factor in your travel from work to and from each lactation pod/place.
Putting it in writing for your employer
Do you need a doctor’s note to convince your employer to give you pumping breaks? According to the U.S. Department of Labor, no, “An employer may not require that you provide a doctor’s note in order to take pump breaks.”
However, it is a wise idea to talk to your boss in advance of return-to-work about your desired pumping schedule each workday. Also, you may want to put your initial return-to-work pumping plan in writing in an email or a letter addressed to your supervisor (or to human resources if that is the preferred contact for work pumping breaks at your company). That way you have proof that you informed your employer of your workplace lactation needs. Make it clear in the letter/email that your plan for pumping breaks may change as your baby grows, and that you will update them if that happens.
To prepare for your discussion with your employer and for any written communication that you desire with them, check out this handy WorkLife Law: Talking to Your Boss About Your Pump tip sheet developed by the Center for WorkLife Law.
Now, you can rest a little easier, knowing you have a solid pumping plan in place to keep your sweetie fed when you are back at work.
Please note: This article, written Dec. 2025, is for informational purposes only based on our understanding of the legal landscape around this topic at that time. It is not intended to provide legal or medical advice. If you live in the U.S. and are seeking current guidance on your specific work situation, please consult the full federal and state laws governing your state in tandem with an attorney. And for medical guidance on your baby’s specific feeding and healthcare needs, please consult with your baby’s healthcare provider.
