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Last published: 6/30/2026 |
Operating Policy and Procedure
HSC OP: 70.42, Break Time for Nursing Mothers
PURPOSE: The purpose of this Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center Operating Policy and Procedure (HSC OP) is to establish standards and protocols for nursing or lactation accommodation in the workplace that demonstrate our Values-Based Culture and support the designation as a Texas Mother-Friendly Worksite.
REVIEW: This HSC OP will be reviewed on June 1st of every even-numbered year (ENY) by the Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer, with recommendations for revisions forwarded to the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer.
POLICY/PROCEDURE:
1. General Information
Ï㽶ֱ²¥ supports and encourages team members who are breastfeeding to continue breastfeeding and express breast milk when they return to work. For this reason, Ï㽶ֱ²¥ will make reasonable efforts to provide a room or other location in close proximity to work areas where a team member can nurse her baby or express milk in privacy.
2. Applicability
This policy applies to all team members, including student workers.
a. A team member shall be eligible for this break time up to, but not beyond, one year after the child’s birth.
b. This break time is available to team members during shifts and hours worked.
3. Team Member Responsibilities
a. Upon return to work after the birth of a child, a breastfeeding team member will be allowed flexibility in their schedule to provide reasonable time to nurse or express milk during working hours.
b. A team member wishing to use nursing mother break times shall provide notice of the request to her supervisor by submitting the Break Time for Nursing Mothers Request form found on the .
c. Such notice shall be provided to the supervisor to allow adequate time to schedule break times and identify the closest designated location.
If a designated location is not available at your worksite, please please get in touch with Human Resources to identify an appropriate location.
d. A team member’s scheduled breaks should ensure a minimal disruption to the operation of the team member’s department.
e. A team member is required to notify her supervisor with reasonable notice when the time for nursing or expressing breast milk is no longer required.
f. This policy does not permit a baby to remain in the workplace as a substitute for regular off-site child care beyond the established nursing purposes.
4. Reasonable Break Time
a. Although a team member is not required to, it is encouraged that normal break times and/or meal periods be used for this purpose.
b. Two breaks per day of up to 20 minutes, one in the first four hours of the workday and one in the last four hours of the workday, will be compensated. Any time in excess of 20 minutes per break shall either be made up by extending the time worked, taking vacation leave, or taking leave without pay for milk expression or feeding. This shall be coordinated with the immediate supervisor.
c. A team member may be required to postpone scheduled break time for up to 30 minutes if appropriate coverage of her workstation is unavailable.
d. If a team member is nursing, additional time for travel to a different location for nursing will not be provided. The team member may coordinate for the baby to be brought to the designated nursing location at the agreed-upon break milk expression or feeding.
5. Minimum Standards for Designated Nursing or Milk Expression Space
6. Ï㽶ֱ²¥ will make reasonable efforts to provide a private room or another suitable location free from the intrusion of co-workers and the public for nursing or expressing breast milk. When feasible, they will be reasonably close to the team member's work area. Lactation support provisions and designated space are available to all team members, including student workers. Below are the minimum standards for Ï㽶ֱ²¥-provided lactation rooms:
a. The designated location shall not be accessible to the public or other team members while it is in use for nursing or expression purposes.
b. The designated location should contain, at a minimum, a chair and a flat surface such as a desk, table, or counter, an electrical outlet, and a door with a lock.
c. If an employee has a private office, it may be used for this purpose.
d. The designated location shall not be a restroom or toilet stall.
e. The location should provide access to a clean, safe water source and a sink.
f. The location should provide access to a hygienic place to store expressed breast milk.
g. The location should provide a lock-secure area with reasonable privacy.
7. Storage of Breast Milk
Lactation rooms will provide access to a hygienic place to store expressed breast milk. However, Ï㽶ֱ²¥ is not responsible for ensuring the safek storage of expressed milk in any refrigerator on its premises.
a. Safekeeping of the expressed milk is the responsibility of the team member. All expressed milk must be stored in closed containers, regardless of the storage method.
b. If the expressed milk is stored in a common refrigerated space, the team member must provide an insulated container to avoid contamination from other items stored therein. The container should be labeled with the team member’s name and the date.
c. If a refrigerator is not available, the team member may bring a small ice chest or other insulated container to store their expressed milk.
8. Authoritative References
Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S.C. § 207 (2018).
Tex. Health & Safety Code Ann. §§ 165.001–165.003 (West 2025).
9. Right to Change Policy
Ï㽶ֱ²¥ reserves the right to interpret, change, modify, amend, or rescind this policy in whole or in part at any time without prior notice or consent from team members.
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