Office of Equity and Compliance

Pregnant, Nursing and/or Parenting Employees & Students

The University recognizes that many nursing, pregnant and/or parenting employees and students exist outside of the binary construction of gender; please be aware that some of the language throughout these sections is reflective of legal text, which we recognize may be limiting in terms of identity.

Cal Poly Pomona is committed to promoting a family-friendly environment by providing programs and services to help students and employees achieve success at the University and in their personal lives.

Pregnant, parenting and lactating students, faculty and staff are protected under our CSU Policy. If you have any questions or concerns relative to support and accommodations, please contact the Title IX Coordinator in the Office of Equity and Diversity.

Lactation Accomodation

Cal Poly Pomona supports employees who continue to nurse their children after they return to work and is committed to providing a work environment that supports employees’ legal rights and medical necessity to express milk in the workplace during the workday.

Nursing parents who wish to express breast milk for the employee’s infant child while at work have the right to request a reasonable amount of break time for the purpose of expressing milk. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the University is not required to compensate employees for breaks taken for the purpose of expressing milk. Break time to express milk should run concurrently with any break time already provided to the employee, when possible.

Break time for an employee that does not run concurrently with the rest time authorized for the employee shall be unpaid. However, nursing employees using break time for the purpose of expressing milk shall be compensated in the same way other employees are compensated for break time, in accordance with the appropriate collective bargaining agreement.

Parents who request break time for the purpose of expressing milk shall be provided the use of a location to express milk in private. The location provided to express milk shall:

  1. not be a bathroom and shall be in close proximity to the employee’s work area, shielded from view, and free from intrusion while the employee is expressing milk;
  2. be safe, clean and free of hazardous materials, as defined in Section 6382 of the Labor Code;
  3. contain a surface to place a breast pump and personal items;
  4. contain a place to sit; and,
  5. have access to electricity or alternative devices, including, but not limited to extension cords or charging stations, needed to operate an electric or battery-powered breast pump.

Parents who wish to express breast milk for the employee’s infant child while at work shall also have access to a sink with running water and a refrigerator suitable for storing milk in close proximity to the employee’s workspace. If a refrigerator cannot be provided, another cooling device suitable for storing milk shall be provided by the employer.

Parents should advise their appropriate staff member, verbally or in writing, of their request for reasonable lactation accommodation for the purpose of expressing milk. In the event that lactation accommodation in compliance with this policy cannot be provided, the appropriate administrator shall provide a written response to the parent submitting the request.

Cooling Device Rentals

The Office of Equity and Compliance provides mini fridges as cooling devices to rent at no cost for students and employees. Please fill out the Cooling Device Agreement and schedule a time to come by the office to pick up the device and to drop-off the agreement. Instructions are provided on the form.  

Student Rights

Title IX prohibits sex and gender discrimination — including discrimination on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth, and parental status — in the educational setting for all institutions that receive federal financial assistance.  As such, Title IX protects students who are pregnant, parenting or nursing from discrimination.  Here are some specific resources about our obligations in this regard:

Please note that information about available lactation rooms on campus can be found on the lactation information page.  This page is updated as additional sites are added.

Employees Rights

Nursing parents temporarily disabled by pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition are entitled to unpaid leave for as long as they remain disabled, up to four months. During that period, the employer must continue to provide the employee with the same level of health insurance coverage she received prior to taking leave. This law applies to employers with five or more employees, regardless of the worker's tenure or number of hours worked.

Cal. Gov't Code § 12945(a)(1)-(2).

Employers are also required to make reasonable accommodations for employees who have work-related limitations stemming from pregnancy, childbirth or a related condition. This may include temporary transfer to a less strenuous or less hazardous position, if an employee so requests upon the advice of her health care provider. If the employer has a policy or practice of transferring temporarily disabled employees to less strenuous positions for the duration of their disability, the employer must do the same for its pregnant employees.

Cal. Gov't Code § 12945(a)(3).

 Employees requesting lactation accommodation in accordance with this policy have the right to file a complaint with the Labor Commissioner for any violation of a right under Chapter 3.8 Lactation Accommodation of the Labor Code.

Employees may file a report/claim with the Labor Commissioner’s Bureau of Field Enforcement. For more information see http://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/HowToReportViolationtoBOFE.htm