[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1463 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1463

 To amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to protect breastfeeding by new 
 mothers and to provide for reasonable break time for nursing mothers.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             August 1, 2011

 Mr. Merkley (for himself, Mr. Harkin, and Mr. Begich) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                 Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to protect breastfeeding by new 
 mothers and to provide for reasonable break time for nursing mothers.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Breastfeeding 
Promotion Act of 2011''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as 
follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
          TITLE I--AMENDMENTS TO THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964

Sec. 101. Findings; purposes.
Sec. 102. Amendments to title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
                    TITLE II--REASONABLE BREAK TIME

Sec. 201. Reasonable break time for nursing mothers.

          TITLE I--AMENDMENTS TO THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964

SEC. 101. FINDINGS; PURPOSES.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) Women with infants and toddlers are a rapidly growing 
        segment of the labor force today.
            (2) Statistical surveys of families show that over 50 
        percent of mothers with children less than 1 year of age are in 
        the labor force.
            (3) All major medical authorities recommend that mothers 
        breastfeed exclusively for 6 months and continue breastfeeding 
        for at least the first year of a child's life, and that 
        arrangements be made to allow a mother's expressing of milk if 
        mother and child must separate.
            (4) Research studies show that children who are not 
        breastfed have an increased risk of common childhood illnesses, 
        such as ear infections, eczema, and diarrhea and vomiting, and 
        of more serious diseases including severe lower respiratory 
        infections, leukemia, and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
            (5) Research studies have also shown that children who are 
        not breastfed have an increased risk of a number of chronic 
        diseases, including type 2 diabetes, asthma, and childhood 
        obesity.
            (6) Exclusive breastfeeding and longer durations of 
        breastfeeding are also associated with better maternal health 
        outcomes, including a reduced risk of ovarian cancer and breast 
        cancer.
            (7) The health benefits to children from breastfeeding 
        translate into a decrease in parental absenteeism due to infant 
        illness. One-day absences to care for sick children occur more 
        than twice as often for mothers of formula feeding infants.
            (8) Congress intended to include breastfeeding and 
        expressing breast milk as protected conduct under the amendment 
        made to title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by the Act 
        entitled ``An Act to amend title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 
        1964 to prohibit sex discrimination on the basis of 
        pregnancy'', approved October 31, 1978 (commonly known as the 
        ``Pregnancy Discrimination Act'').
            (9) Although title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as 
        so amended, applies with respect to ``pregnancy, childbirth, or 
        related medical conditions'', a few courts have failed to reach 
        the conclusion that breastfeeding and expressing breast milk in 
        the workplace are covered by such title.
    (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this title are--
            (1) to promote the health and well-being of infants whose 
        mothers return to the workplace after childbirth; and
            (2) to clarify that breastfeeding and expressing breast 
        milk in the workplace are protected conduct under the amendment 
        made by the Act commonly known as the ``Pregnancy 
        Discrimination Act'' to title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 
        1964.

SEC. 102. AMENDMENTS TO TITLE VII OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964.

    Section 701(k) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e(k)) 
is amended--
            (1) by inserting ``(including lactation)'' after 
        ``childbirth''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following: ``For purposes of 
        this subsection, the term `lactation' means a condition that 
        may result in the feeding of a child directly from the breast 
        or the expressing of milk from the breast.''.

                    TITLE II--REASONABLE BREAK TIME

SEC. 201. REASONABLE BREAK TIME FOR NURSING MOTHERS.

    Section 13 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 213) 
is amended in subsection (a), by inserting ``(except section 7(r) in 
the case of paragraph (1) of this subsection)'' after ``and 7''.
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