The ACLU of Delaware advocates for breastfeeding access at work, in schools, and in public because it is a civil right, and an important step in the fight for gender and reproductive justice.
Federal and State laws protect your right to breastfeed and pump.
As of April 2023, the PUMP Act (Provide Urgent Maternal Protections Act) added increased protections to the 2010 Break Time for Nursing Mothers Act.
Under these laws covered employers are required to:
It is illegal for an employer to retaliate against you for vindicating your rights or asking for your legally owed lactation space. If you feel that your right to pump or breastfeed at work has been violated, you can file a complaint with the Department of Labor Wage and Hour Office, or you can file a lawsuit.
Lactating students also have the right to pump or nurse while in school through Title IX’s protections against discrimination based on sex. Schools are required to provide “reasonable academic modifications,” which may include breaks to lactate, without penalty.
Your school must make accommodations for your lactation-related health needs, such as:
This list is just a sampling of what may be considered reasonable accommodation; and your school must engage in conversation to determine what reasonable accommodation would meet your specific needs.
Like in the workplace, Title IX also requires that students have access to a clean, non-bathroom, lactation space that is safe, functional, and free from intrusion. Finally, your school must protect you from harassment or discrimination related to lactation, including negative comments.
If you are a Delaware student and have not been given adequate accommodations or have faced lactation-related harassment, contact your Title IX coordinator, or contact us.
While all 50 states have laws protecting some extent of lactation in public, these laws vary in specifics. In Delaware, your right to breastfeed in places of public accommodation is legally protected.1
Delaware law could be even stronger to cover as many breastfeeding parents in as many circumstances as possible. Greater clarity in the law would promote greater access, and further support the right to breastfeed.
First, the law only uses the word breastfeeding. This makes it unclear whether pumping or other means of expressing milk are included in the law’s protections. For this reason, it is critical that the right to breastfeed in public includes the right to pump, as many breastfeeding parents rely on pumping as a central component of their breastfeeding plan.2 Ideally, the law could be amended to match other, more comprehensive state breastfeeding laws, to include the phrase "express breast milk,” and resolve any ambiguity as to whether pumping in public is also protected.
Additionally, while the phrase “public accommodation” in the Delaware law covers many public places, it is still a technical legal definition that leaves many parents unsure of whether their location is protected under the existing law. So, like in other state breastfeeding laws, the narrower phrase “public accommodation” could be replaced to explicitly cover “any location, public or private.” This shift would make it clear that your right to breastfeed in any place, public or private, is protected—no matter where you are.
Finally, the law should explicitly state that parents have a private right of action to file a lawsuit where their rights are violated. This would ensure that parents do not shrug off a violation of their legal rights because they don’t know what recourse is available—and it also provides accountability to places that do violate parents’ rights.
Broadening and clarifying Delaware’s breastfeeding law would promote greater access to breastfeeding and ensure that parents in Delaware have a meaningful choice on this important reproductive justice issue. Knowledge is power. Make sure you know your rights so that you can hold those accountable who interfere with civil liberties central to the fight for gender and racial equity.
The ACLU of Delaware will never stop advocating for policies that protect our rights. We strive to promote even greater reproductive, gender, and workplace justice moving forward.