Philadelphia Expands Fair Practices Ordinance: Strengthens Protections for Breastfeeding Mothers

Philadelphia’s Mayor Nutter recently signed the Breastfeeding Accommodation Bill, Number 130922, an extension of the Philadelphia Fair Practices Ordinance. It is effective immediately. Businesses with one (1) or more employees are now required to provide reasonable accommodations for female employees who need to pump breast milk.  Reasonable accommodation includes providing unpaid break time or allowing an employee to use paid break, mealtime, or both, to express milk and provide a private, sanitary space that is not a bathroom where an employee can express breast milk, so long as the requirements do not impose an undue hardship on the employer.

Currently, employers in Philadelphia are required to consider employee requests for accommodations related to pregnancy, childbirth and related medical conditions. It is important that employers add company policy provisions that cover providing breastfeeding employees with the time and space to express breast milk at the workplace. Additionally, management and supervisors should be trained on the details of the ordinance. As stated by the Executive Director of the Philadelphia Human Relations Commission, Rue Landau, “the new law adds essential job protection for working mothers and their families. Now, women who return to work after childbirth can express milk at their jobs in safe, private, sanitary spaces. Couple the new breastfeeding provisions with the law to provide reasonable job accommodations for pregnant workers, and women are protected at work from pregnancy through childbirth and breastfeeding. That’s a huge win for female employees, their families, and Philadelphia’s economy.”

Did you know…? Every employer in PA must display the Pennsylvania All-On-One poster™, but there are several additional mandatory-to-post requirements for those employers in the City of Philadelphia. They include:

  • #38710 Entitlement to Leave due to Domestic Violence poster. This poster must be posted wherever employees perform work.
  • #38713 Bilingual Employment Discrimination poster. This official notice must be prominently displayed where applicants are interviewed and wherever work is performed, pursuant to the Philadelphia Fair Practices Ordinance.
  • #38200 Pregnancy Accommodations Rights poster. Effective April 20, 2014 employers in the City of Philadelphia, PA must provide written notice to new and existing employees, ideally in an employee handbook or other form of hiring package. Posting of notice at the place of business is an area accessible to employees is highly encouraged.

For businesses in the housing and public accommodations industries there are additional requirements.

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