Breastfeeding mothers who are employed by the State of Texas will now have an easier time of things. A new law took effect on September First that will provide legal protections to breastfeeding state employees, reports The Texas Observer.
The federal Fair Labor Standards Act already requires employers to provide break times and a private space for breastfeeding. But Texas’s House Bill 786 extends that guarantee to salaried public employees. The law also applies to city, county and state workers and requires public employers to put their breastfeeding policy in writing.
Still, some advocates were frustrated by the law’s inclusion of a single-occupant restroom as an official place for breastfeeding.
Research shows that breastfeeding newborns reduces the likelihood diseases later in life and boosts babies’ immune systems.