1. New Law Starting January 1, 2020 Requires Employers to Provide Accommodations in the Workplace for Mothers who are Nursing

Senate Bill 142 was signed into law. Commencing January 1, 2020, if you are an employer, you must provide the following to nursing mothers in the workplace:

1. A clean room (not a bathroom), free of hazardous materials with running water, access to a refrigerator, and a clean surface on which a woman can place a breast pump. There also must be an electrical outlet and a place to sit.

2. The room must be free of any intrusion, with no other uses allowed during lactation.

There are exemptions. Those exemptions are as follows:

1. Employers in a multi-tenant building can share space with other companies, if necessary.

2. Any employer with space limitations or with financial and operational constraints, must provide a private room near the person’s workspace without the added sink/running water and refrigerator.

3. An employer with fewer than 50 workers can apply for an exemption if it can be proved that it would cause financial hardship.

Comment: This new law will make tenant improvement contractors very happy. If you are a plumber, you are also going to be happy, as the requirement for a sink with running water will be not be inexpensive. Is there any wonder why many businesses are leaving the Golden State for Texas and other states with all these rules, regulations, ordinances, just running up the costs of doing business in California.