Breastfeeding Laws

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From a PDF viewer (like Adobe Reader or Acrobat)

1. Under Size options, choose "Actual Size"
2. Select "Print on Both Sides" and choose the "Flip on Short Edge" option.
3. Print and cut along the mark lines.
4. Laminate (or not), and keep in your wallet.

• 2021 - SB 121, Each school district shall provide lactating employees paid breaks and a private, secure and sanitary location (other than a toilet stall) to express milk or breastfeed their child.          
• 2020 - SB 1877, Oklahoma state owned public buildings are required to provide breastfeeding employees a hygienic place to express milk or breastfeed at work (other than a bathroom), shielded from view and free from intrusion, with a chair, working surface, and an electrical outlet.
• 2020 - SB 285, Oklahoma state agencies are required to provide breastfeeding employees paid break time to use a designated lactation room.
• 2010 - National Breastfeeding Law - Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Employers shall provide reasonable break time and a private place for an employee to express breast milk for her nursing child for one year.
• 2006 - HB 2358, Oklahoma breastfeeding mothers may use unpaid break and meal times to breastfeed or express breast milk at work. Employers are urged to provide a private area (other than a toilet stall) for this purpose.
• 2004 - HB 2102, Oklahoma mothers have the right to breastfeed anywhere they have a right to be, and shall be excused from jury duty upon request.

Have you visited a business that was breastfeeding friendly?
Let us know and they will receive a thank you letter.

Does your employer support breastfeeding?
Encourage your employer to apply to be an Oklahoma Recognized Breastfeeding Friendly Worksite

Are you discouraged from expressing milk or from breastfeeding during work hours?
Tell us and we will send a letter with information about Oklahoma's laws and the Oklahoma Worksite Recognition Initiative.

Have you been asked to leave a public place because you were breastfeeding?
Tell us and we will send a letter with information about Oklahoma’s laws.

• Tips for handling criticism while nursing in public

• Online Workplace Guide: What You Need to Know About the Break Time for Nursing Mothers Law
  • 20 Helpful Questions & Answers - US Breastfeeding Committee
• Break Time for Nursing Mothers under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FSLA) - Fact Sheet #73 
  • (US Department of Labor - Wage & Hours Division)
• Title VII of the Civil Rights Act: The Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978
  • What is Pregnancy Discrimination? (US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, EEOC)
  • Enforcement Guidance on Pregnancy Discrimination and Related Issues
    • Section 4.b. - Discrimination Based on Lactation and Breastfeeding
• File a Formal Complaint:
  • US Department of Labor Wage & Hour Division - online portal | (800) 487-9243
    • Oklahoma City office: (405) 231-4158
    • Tulsa office: (918) 581-6303
  • US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission - online portal | (800) 669-4000
• Breast Pump Benefits in the Affordable Care Act

For more information about Breastfeeding Promotion and Support Activities, contact us:

Mailing Address:
Oklahoma State Department of Health
Maternal and Child Health Service
123 Robert S. Kerr Ave, Ste 1702
Oklahoma City, OK 73102-6406

Physical Address:
Oklahoma State Department of Health
Maternal and Child Health Service
123 Robert S. Kerr Ave.
Oklahoma City, OK

Phone: (405) 426-8113
Fax: (405) 900-7580