During the 2008 legislative session, the Colorado General Assembly passed the Workplace Accommodations for Nursing Mothers Act. The law, which became effective on August 5, 2008, applies to all employers with one or more employees. The law imposes two obligations on employers:
- Employers must allow employees to use break time (either paid or unpaid) to express breast milk for her nursing child up to two years after the child’s birth and,
- Employers must make reasonable efforts to provide a nursing mother with a room or location in close proximity to the work area, other than a toilet stall, where the mother can express breast milk free from intrusion. Pursuant to the law, the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment has links to resources on its website where employers may access information regarding methods to accommodate nursing mothers in the workplace. The space provided may be simple and need only be clean, private, and include a chair, table, and electrical outlet. Examples of spaces that may meet this criteria include an office, conference room, supply room, locker room, or break room. To find or request a location within your current workplace for nursing, please contact your department. If you have further questions regarding lactation accommodations please contact the Office of Employee Relations at 303-492-0956.
The Center for Inclusion and Social Change maintains a list of some of the lactation rooms available on campus, or you can view the lactation room map. The Boulder Campus Lactation Space Policy is managed by the Office of Institutional Equity and Compliance and Title IX Coordinator and can be found at https://www.colorado.edu/policies/lactation-space-policy.