[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 205 (Wednesday, October 27, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Page 59391]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-23397]


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GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION

[Notice-MA-2021-05; Docket No. 2021-0002; Sequence No. 27]


Federal Travel Regulation (FTR); Applicability of the Federal 
Travel Regulation Part 301-13 to Employees Who Are Nursing

AGENCY: Office of Government-wide Policy (OGP), General Services 
Administration (GSA).

ACTION: Notice of GSA Bulletin FTR 22-03, Applicability of the Federal 
Travel Regulation Part 301-13 to Employees who are Nursing.

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SUMMARY: GSA Bulletin FTR 22-03 provides guidance to agencies subject 
to the Federal Travel Regulation (FTR) to clarify that ``special 
needs'' travel may include reasonable accommodations for employees who 
breastfeed.

DATES: Applicability Date: This notice is effective upon date of 
publication.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Jill Denning, Office of 
Government-wide Policy, Office of Asset and Transportation Management, 
at [email protected]. Please cite Notice of GSA Bulletin FTR 22-03.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Federal agencies can accommodate an employee's special needs while 
on temporary duty travel pursuant to the FTR, Part 301-13. Per Sec.  
301-13.2, an agency can pay for additional travel expenses to 
accommodate a special physical need which is either: (a) Clearly 
visible and discernible; or (b) substantiated in writing by a competent 
medical authority.
    In recent years, agencies and employees have asked whether 
employees who breastfeed have a special need that agencies may 
accommodate while the employee is on temporary duty travel (TDY).
    Employees who breastfeed and go on official travel orders face a 
physical challenge that other employees who are not breastfeeding do 
not. Travel away from home usually requires the employee to be away 
from the child. While milk can be expressed beforehand and left for a 
caregiver, sometimes there is not enough to last the duration of the 
trip and milk must be safely stored and shipped back home.
    In order to not force employees to make a choice between nursing or 
fulfilling work duties, Federal agencies may recognize that a nursing 
employee on official travel has a special need, as verified per 
regulatory requirements. Agencies may determine that the special need 
means that a spouse, nanny, or other attendant can accompany the 
employee on the trip at Government expense in order to watch the child 
in between the employee's reasonable break periods to breastfeed while 
working at the temporary duty station. If no attendant is necessary, an 
employee on official travel may still need to use services for storage 
and shipment of breast milk to the child.
    GSA Bulletin FTR 22-03 can be viewed in its entirety at https://www.gsa.gov/ftrbulletins.

Krystal J. Brumfield,
Associate Administrator, Office of Government-wide Policy.
[FR Doc. 2021-23397 Filed 10-26-21; 8:45 am]
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