Policy update

LACTATION SUPPORT: Interim Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Danny Anderson has approved a policy requiring support of nursing mothers in the workplace. The policy was developed by University Support Staff Senate and Human Resources and Equal Opportunity.

The policy states departments should provide accommodations to lactating mothers such as “access to a clean and private space to express milk for any staff or faculty member or student employee who is breastfeeding a child for up to 3 years after the birth of a child.”

Departments unable to provide such a space should allow nursing faculty, staff or student employees adequate time to travel to a campus location where a lactation station is located. Staff members should not be disciplined for travel time needed to get to and from the lactation station. A list of campus lactation stations is available at http://www.etwrc.ku.edu/~etwrc/parents/NursingStations.shtml.

Employees who need to travel should make arrangements to do so with their respective department. Ideal locations should be clean, maintain appropriate temperature and ventilation, and be located near the work station, have locks and an electrical outlet. Access to a refrigerator is advised.

Employees should be allowed use of break time, leave time, meal time and/or a flexible work schedule to utilize a lactation station. Decisions on accommodations should be made on a case-by-case basis.

The full policy is available in the KU Policy Library.

Almanac