Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions
U.S. Senate
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Senator:
On behalf of our 3 million members and the 50 million students they educate and nurture, we urge you to vote YES on the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections (PUMP) Act (S. 1658). Votes on this issue may be included in the NEA Report Card for the 117th Congress.
The PUMP Act is necessary because nearly one in four women of childbearing age is not covered by the Break Time law, which excludes certain categories of employees, including educators. The legislation would:
- Protect the nearly 9 million employees who are not now covered by the Break Time law;
- Require employers to provide reasonable break time and a private, non-bathroom space for breastfeeding employees to pump during the workday;
- Provide employers with clarity on when pumping time must be paid and when it may be unpaid, leaving in place existing law protecting many salaried workers and clarifying that any time spent pumping while the employee is working must be counted as hours worked; and
- Ensure that nursing mothers have access to remedies that are available for other violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
The PUMP Act is a recognition that breastfeeding mothers are also important breadwinners for their families. We urge you to vote YES on S. 1658.
Sincerely,
Marc Egan
Director of Government Relations
National Education Association
