A 4704 — Requires employer to provide certain accommodations to employee who is breastfeeding or expressing milk.*

A4704 1R [First Reprint] ASSEMBLY, No.

Assemblywoman  SHANIQUE SPEIGHT District 29 (Essex and Hudson)  Assemblywoman  Co-SponsoredTENNILLE by:R.

AssemblymanMCCOY VeneziaDistrict and14 Assemblywoman(Mercer Moralesand  Middlesex)    Co-Sponsored  by: SYNOPSIS      Requires employer to provide certain accommodations to employee who is breast feeding.

Assemblyman Venezia and Assemblywoman Morales   CURRENT  VERSION  OF  TEXTSYNOPSIS      AsRequires introduced.employer to provide certain accommodations to employee who is breastfeeding or expressing milk.

    AnCURRENT ActVERSION concerningOF protectionsTEXT provided     toAs employeesreported whoby arethe breastAssembly feedingCommunity childrenDevelopment and amendingWomen's P.L.1945,Affairs c.169.Committee on September 10, 2026, with amendments.

   An Act concerning protections provided to employees who are breast feeding 1[children] or expressing milk1 and amending P.L.1945, c.169.

     a.     For an employer, because of the race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, civil union status, domestic partnership status, affectional or sexual orientation, genetic information, pregnancy 1[or] ,1 breastfeeding 1, or breastfeeding,expressing milk1, sex, gender identity or expression, disability or atypical hereditary cellular or blood trait of any individual, or because of the liability for service in the Armed Forces of the United States or the nationality of any individual, or because of the refusal to submit to a genetic test or make available the results of a genetic test to an employer, to refuse to hire or employ or to bar or to discharge or require to retire, unless justified by lawful considerations other than age, from employment such individual or to discriminate against such individual in compensation or in terms, conditions or privileges of employment;

     b.    For a labor organization, because of the race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, civil union status, domestic partnership status, affectional or sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, pregnancy 1[or] ,1 breastfeeding 1, or breastfeeding,expressing milk1, or sex of any individual, or because of the liability for service in the Armed Forces of the United States or nationality of any individual, to exclude or to expel from its membership such individual or to discriminate in any way against any of its members, against any applicant for, or individual included in, any apprentice or other training program or against any employer or any individual employed by an employer;

     c.     For any employer or employment agency to print or circulate or cause to be printed or circulated any statement, advertisement or publication, or to use any form of application for employment, or to make an inquiry in connection with prospective employment, which expresses, directly or indirectly, any limitation, specification or discrimination as to race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, civil union status, domestic partnership status, affectional or sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, nationality, pregnancy 1[or] ,1 breastfeeding 1, or breastfeeding,expressing milk1, or sex or liability of any applicant for employment for service in the Armed Forces of the United States, or any intent to make any such limitation, specification or discrimination, unless based upon a bona fide occupational qualification.

     f.     (1) For any owner, lessee, proprietor, manager, superintendent, agent, or employee of any place of public accommodation directly or indirectly to refuse, withhold from or deny to any person any of the accommodations, advantages, facilities or privileges thereof, or to discriminate against any person in the furnishing thereof, or directly or indirectly to publish, circulate, issue, display, post or mail any written or printed communication, notice, or advertisement to the effect that any of the accommodations, advantages, facilities, or privileges of any such place will be refused, withheld from, or denied to any person on account of the race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, marital status, civil union status, domestic partnership status, pregnancy 1[or] ,1 breastfeeding 1, or breastfeeding,expressing milk1, sex, gender identity or expression, affectional or sexual orientation, disability, liability for service in the Armed Forces of the United States or nationality of such person, or that the patronage or custom thereat of any person of any particular race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, marital status, civil union status, domestic partnership status, pregnancy or1[or] ,1 breastfeeding status,1, or expressing milk1, sex, gender identity or expression, affectional or sexual orientation, disability, liability for service in the Armed Forces of the United States or nationality is unwelcome, objectionable or not acceptable, desired or solicited, and the production of any such written or printed communication, notice or advertisement, purporting to relate to any such place and to be made by any owner, lessee, proprietor, superintendent or manager thereof, shall be presumptive evidence in any action that the same was authorized by such person;

of section 5 of P.L.1945, c.169 (C.10:5-5), for any owner, lessee, proprietor, manager, superintendent, agent, or employee of any private club or association to directly or indirectly refuse, withhold from or deny to any individual who has been accepted as a club member and has contracted for or is otherwise entitled to full club membership any of the accommodations, advantages, facilities or privileges thereof, or to discriminate against any member in the furnishing thereof on account of the race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, marital status, civil union status, domestic partnership status, pregnancy 1[or] ,1 breastfeeding 1, or breastfeeding,expressing milk1, sex, gender identity, or expression, affectional or sexual orientation, disability, liability for service in the Armed Forces of the United States or nationality of such person.

     (1)   To refuse to sell, rent, lease, assign, or sublease or otherwise to deny to or withhold from any person or group of persons any real property or part or portion thereof because of race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, marital status, civil union status, domestic partnership status, pregnancy 1[or] ,1 breastfeeding 1, or breastfeeding,expressing milk1, sex, gender identity or expression, affectional or sexual orientation, familial status, disability, liability for service in the Armed Forces of the United States, nationality, or source of lawful income used for rental or mortgage payments;

     (2)   To discriminate against any person or group of persons because of race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, marital status, civil union status, domestic partnership status, pregnancy 1[or] ,1 breastfeeding 1, or breastfeeding,expressing milk1, sex, gender identity or expression, affectional or sexual orientation, familial status, disability, liability for service in the Armed Forces of the United States, nationality or source of lawful income used for rental or mortgage payments in the terms, conditions or privileges of the sale, rental or lease of any real property or part or portion thereof or in the furnishing of facilities or services in connection therewith;

     (3)   To print, publish, circulate, issue, display, post or mail, or cause to be printed, published, circulated, issued, displayed, posted or mailed any statement, advertisement, publication or sign, or to use any form of application for the purchase, rental, lease, assignment or sublease of any real property or part or portion thereof, or to make any record or inquiry in connection with the prospective purchase, rental, lease, assignment, or sublease of any real property, or part or portion thereof which expresses, directly or indirectly, any limitation, specification or discrimination as to race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, marital status, civil union status, domestic partnership status, pregnancy 1[or] ,1 breastfeeding 1, or breastfeeding,expressing milk1, sex, gender identity, or expression, affectional or sexual orientation, familial status, disability, liability for service in the Armed Forces of the United States, nationality, or source of lawful income used for rental or mortgage payments, or any intent to make any such limitation, specification or discrimination, and the production of any such statement, advertisement, publicity, sign, form of application, record, or inquiry purporting to be made by any such person shall be presumptive evidence in any action that the same was authorized by such person;

     (1)   To refuse to sell, rent, assign, lease or sublease, or offer for sale, rental, lease, assignment, or sublease any real property or part or portion thereof to any person or group of persons or to refuse to negotiate for the sale, rental, lease, assignment, or sublease of any real property or part or portion thereof to any person or group of persons because of race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, marital status, civil union status, domestic partnership status, familial status, pregnancy 1[or] ,1 breastfeeding 1, or breastfeeding,expressing milk1, sex, gender identity or expression, affectional or sexual orientation, liability for service in the Armed Forces of the United States, disability, nationality, or source of lawful income used for rental or mortgage payments, or to represent that any real property or portion thereof is not available for inspection, sale, rental, lease, assignment, or sublease when in fact it is so available, or otherwise to deny or withhold any real property or any part or portion of facilities thereof to or from any person or group of persons because of race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, marital status, civil union status, domestic partnership status, familial status, pregnancy or breastfeeding, sex, gender identity or expression, affectional or sexual orientation, disability, liability for service in the Armed Forces of the United States, or nationality;

     (2)   To discriminate against any person because of race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, marital status, civil union status, domestic partnership status, familial status, pregnancy 1[or] ,1 breastfeeding 1, or breastfeeding,expressing milk1, sex, gender identity or expression, affectional or sexual orientation, disability, liability for service in the Armed Forces of the United States, nationality, or source of lawful income used for rental or mortgage payments in the terms, conditions or privileges of the sale, rental, lease, assignment or sublease of any real property or part or portion thereof or in the furnishing of facilities or services in connection therewith;

     (3)   To print, publish, circulate, issue, display, post, or mail, or cause to be printed, published, circulated, issued, displayed, posted or mailed any statement, advertisement, publication or sign, or to use any form of application for the purchase, rental, lease, assignment, or sublease of any real property or part or portion thereof or to make any record or inquiry in connection with the prospective purchase, rental, lease, assignment, or sublease of any real property or part or portion thereof which expresses, directly or indirectly, any limitation, specification or discrimination as to race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, marital status, civil union status, domestic partnership status, familial status, pregnancy 1[or] ,1 breastfeeding 1, or breastfeeding,expressing milk1, sex, gender identity or expression, affectional or sexual orientation, disability, liability for service in the Armed Forces of the United States, nationality, or source of lawful income used for rental or mortgage payments or any intent to make any such limitation, specification or discrimination, and the production of any such statement, advertisement, publicity, sign, form of application, record, or inquiry purporting to be made by any such person shall be presumptive evidence in any action that the same was authorized by such person;

     (1)   To discriminate against any person or group of persons because of race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, marital status, civil union status, domestic partnership status, pregnancy 1[or] ,1 breastfeeding 1, or breastfeeding,expressing milk1, sex, gender identity or expression, affectional or sexual orientation, disability, liability for service in the Armed Forces of the United States, familial status or nationality, in the granting, withholding, extending, modifying, renewing, or purchasing, or in the fixing of the rates, terms, conditions or provisions of any such loan, extension of credit or financial assistance or purchase thereof or in the extension of services in connection therewith;

     (2)   To use any form of application for such loan, extension of credit or financial assistance or to make record or inquiry in connection with applications for any such loan, extension of credit or financial assistance which expresses, directly or indirectly, any limitation, specification or discrimination as to race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, marital status, civil union status, domestic partnership status, pregnancy 1[or] ,1 breastfeeding 1, or breastfeeding,expressing milk1, sex, gender identity or expression, affectional or sexual orientation, disability, liability for service in the Armed Forces of the United States, familial status or nationality or any intent to make any such limitation, specification or discrimination;

     k.    For any real estate broker, real estate salesperson or employee or agent thereof or any other individual, corporation, partnership, or organization, for the purpose of inducing a transaction for the sale or rental of real property from which transaction such person or any of its members may benefit financially, to represent that a change has occurred or will or may occur in the composition with respect to race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, marital status, civil union status, domestic partnership status, familial status, pregnancy 1[or] ,1 breastfeeding 1, or breastfeeding,expressing milk1, sex, gender identity or expression, affectional or sexual orientation, disability, liability for service in the Armed Forces of the United States, nationality, or source of lawful income used for rental or mortgage payments of the owners or occupants in the block, neighborhood or area in which the real property is located, and to represent, directly or indirectly, that this change will or may result in undesirable consequences in the block, neighborhood or area in which the real property is located, including, but not limited to the lowering of property values, an increase in criminal or anti-social behavior, or a decline in the quality of schools or other facilities.

     l.     For any person to refuse to buy from, sell to, lease from or to, license, contract with, or trade with, provide goods, services or information to, or otherwise do business with any other person on the basis of the race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, age, pregnancy 1[or] ,1 breastfeeding 1, or breastfeeding,expressing milk1, sex, gender identity or expression, affectional or sexual orientation, marital status, civil union status, domestic partnership status, liability for service in the Armed Forces of the United States, disability, nationality, or source of lawful income used for rental or mortgage payments of such other person or of such other person's family members, partners, members, stockholders, directors, officers, managers, superintendents, agents, employees, business associates, suppliers, or customers.  This subsection shall not prohibit refusals or other actions (1) pertaining to employee-employer collective bargaining, labor disputes, or unfair labor practices, or (2) made or taken in connection with a protest of unlawful discrimination or unlawful employment practices.

     (1)   Grant or accept any letter of credit or other document which evidences the transfer of funds or credit, or enter into any contract for the exchange of goods or services, where the letter of credit, contract, or other document contains any provisions requiring any person to discriminate against or to certify that he, she or it has not dealt with any other person on the basis of the race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, age, pregnancy 1[or] ,1 breastfeeding 1, or breastfeeding,expressing milk1, sex, gender identity or expression, affectional or sexual orientation, marital status, civil union status, domestic partnership status, disability, liability for service in the Armed Forces of the United States, or nationality of such other person or of such other person's family members, partners, members, stockholders, directors, officers, managers, superintendents, agents, employees, business associates, suppliers, or customers.

     o.    For any multiple listing service, real estate brokers' organization or other service, organization or facility related to the business of selling or renting dwellings to deny any person access to or membership or participation in such organization, or to discriminate against such person in the terms or conditions of such access, membership, or participation, on account of race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, civil union status, domestic partnership status, familial status, pregnancy 1[or] ,1 breastfeeding 1, or breastfeeding,expressing milk1, sex, gender identity or expression, affectional or sexual orientation, disability, liability for service in the Armed Forces of the United States or nationality.

     s.     For an employer to treat, for employment-related purposes, a1[a womanwoman] an1 employee that the employer knows, or should know, is affected by pregnancy or1[or] ,1 breastfeeding 1, or expressing milk1 in a manner less favorable than the treatment of other persons not affected by pregnancy or1[or] ,1 breastfeeding 1, or expressing milk1 but similar in their ability or inability to work.  In addition, an employer of an employee who1[who is a womanwoman]1 affected by pregnancy shall make available to the employee reasonable accommodation in the workplace, such as bathroom breaks, breaks for increased water intake, periodic rest, assistance with manual labor, job restructuring or modified work schedules, and temporary transfers to less strenuous or hazardous work, for needs related to the pregnancy when the employee, based on the advice of her1[her physician,physician] the employee’s health care provider1, requests the accommodation,accommodation 1[, and, in the case of a lactatinglactating].  An employer of an1 employee [breast feeding her infant child] for1[for such time as the employee desires, the] who is affected by pregnancy, breastfeeding or  expressing milk shall make available to the employee reasonable accommodations in the workplace for expressing milk for such time as the employee desires, and at a minimum, such1 accommodation shall include reasonable break time each day paid 1to the employee1 at the employee’s regular rate of compensation,compensation 1[, job restructuring, and a modified work schedule to the employeeemployee]1 and a suitable room or other location 1other than a restroom,1 with privacy, free from 1the1 intrusion 1or view1 of other employees1[employees or customers of the employer’s business, if applicable, other than a [toilet stall] restroom,restroom] individuals, with an electric outlet and a place to sit1, in close proximity to the work area 1, running water, and refrigerated storage,1 for the employee to express breast1[breast]1 milk for1[for the child,child]1, unless the employer can demonstrate that providing the accommodation would be an undue hardship on the business operations of the employer.  The employer shall not in any way penalize the employee in terms, conditions or privileges of employment for requesting or using the accommodation.

Workplace accommodation provided pursuant to this subsection and paid or unpaid leave provided to an employee affected by pregnancy or1[or] ,1 breastfeeding 1, or expressing milk1 shall not be provided in a manner less favorable than accommodations or leave provided to other employees not affected by pregnancy or1[or] ,1 breastfeeding 1, or expressing milk1 but similar in their ability or inability to work.  This subsection shall not be construed as otherwise increasing or decreasing any employee's rights under law to paid or unpaid leave in connection with pregnancy 1[or] ,1 breastfeeding 1, or breastfeeding.expressing milk1.

     For the purposes of this section "pregnancy“pregnancy 1[or] ,1 breastfeeding 1, or breastfeeding"expressing milk1” means pregnancy, childbirth, and1[and]1 breast feeding 1,1 or expressing milk for breastfeeding, or medical conditions related to pregnancy, childbirth, 1[or] ,1 breastfeeding 1, or breastfeeding,expressing milk1, including recovery from childbirth.

     For1For the purposes of this subsection,section, in“expressing determiningmilk” whetherincludes anmanually accommodationexpressing wouldmilk; impose undue hardship on the operation of an employer's business, the factors to be considered include:

pumping milk;

and breastfeeding, chestfeeding, bodyfeeding, or otherwise feeding milk from an individual’s body to their child.1      For the purposes of this subsection, in determining whether an accommodation would impose undue hardship on the operation of an employer's business, the factors to be considered include:

     1For purposes of this subsection, the requirement that an employer provide a suitable room or other location other than a restroom for an employee who is breastfeeding or expressing milk shall only apply to employers with 15 or more employees and not to to remote workplaces, workplaces that are outdoors, or locations with less than 3,000 square feet of physical space.1      t.     For an employer to pay any of its employees who is a member of a protected class at a rate of compensation, including benefits, which is less than the rate paid by the employer to employees who are not members of the protected class for substantially similar work, when viewed as a composite of skill, effort and responsibility.  An employer who is paying a rate of compensation in violation of this subsection shall not reduce the rate of compensation of any employee in order to comply with this subsection.  An employer may pay a different rate of compensation only if the employer demonstrates that the differential is made pursuant to a seniority system, a merit system, or the employer demonstrates:

     Comparisons of wage rates shall be based on wage rates in all of an employer's operations or facilities.  For the purposes of this subsection, "member of a protected class" means an employee who has one or more characteristics, including race, creed, color, national origin, nationality, ancestry, age, marital status, civil union status, domestic partnership status, affectional or sexual orientation, genetic information, pregnancy, breastfeeding 1, or expressing milk,1 sex, gender identity or expression, disability or atypical hereditary cellular or blood trait of any individual, or liability for service in the armed forces, for which subsection a.

P.L.2021,P.L.2025, c.248,c.307, s.2)s.7)        2.    This act shall take effect immediately.

    STATEMENT        This bill would clarify protections provided in the “Law Against Discrimination” to working mothers who are breast feeding.  Specifically, the bill provides that an employer is required to accommodate a lactating employee for as long as the employee desires.  Additionally, the bill clarifies that lactating employees are entitled to reasonable break time paid at the employee’s regular rate of compensation, job restructuring, and a modified work schedule for the purpose of milk expression.

     Further, the bill requires an employer to provide a suitable room or other location with privacy, free from intrusion of other employees or customers of the employer’s business, if applicable, other than a restroom, for the purpose of milk expression.