How Los Angeles County organized to improve lactation accommodations Genevieve Thomas Colvin, IBCLC Program Manager Made possible by funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention through the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health
Overview and Disclosures 2 National Context State Laws BreastfeedLA: A Local Model Lessons Learned Developing Your Community Strategy Tools and Resources Genevieve Thomas Colvin, IBCLC No affiliations with any persons or entities that could be perceived as having a bearing on this presentation.
National Context 3 2010: Affordable Care Act: Federal Lactation Law 2010: FLOTUS: White House Report on Childhood Obesity 2011: Surgeon General: Call to Action to Support Breastfeeding 2020: Healthy People Goals: Increase # of employers/lactation Support
National Barriers 4 Federal Lactation Law Limited Federal Case Law: Breastfeeding NOT protected under Title VII Texas EEOC Case Breastfeeding Promotion Act of 2011 Pregnant Workers Fairness Act.But, California is leading the nation!
California Breastfeeding Laws 5 Civil Code, Section 43.3: Breastfeeding in Public Civil Procedure Code: Section 210.5: Jury duty exemption Labor Code 1030: Reasonable accommodations for lactation in workplace Labor Code 1171.5: Labor laws enforced regardless of immigration status FEHA, Preg Regs: Lactation is other related medical condition DFEH vs. Acostas Tacos: Breastfeeding is an act intrinsic to being female AB 2386: Under FEHA, Breastfeeding employed mothers are a protected class.
California Leading 6 California has the greatest legal protections for breastfeeding women!
Why Local Organization is Critical 7 If you don t know your rights, you don t have any.
BreastfeedLA s Model GOAL Policies to support breastfeeding: 8 3 county hospitals 8 county departments 2 large employers BreastfeedLA partnered with LA County Department of Public Health
WIN! 9 County of Los Angeles Countywide Policy & Program PPG 705 Policy implementation Trainings Web resources Dedicated space Brochure Break room poster
WIN! 10 Policy implementation Trainings Web resources Dedicated space Brochure Break room poster City of Los Angeles Citywide Policy October 2011
City of Los Angeles 11
City of Los Angeles 12
WIN! Kaiser Permanente Southern California Policy guidelines Strengthen National Kaiser lactation accommodation policy Train key HR staff Create web resources for employees 13 City of Long Beach Issued a technical letter: City-Wide Accommodation for Nursing Mothers Sept. 2011 California State University Issued a technical letter: http://calstate.edu/hradm/pdf2011/hr2011-03.pdf HR 2011-03
Lessons Learned 14 Lack of awareness about the laws Common misconception: this is all about rooms Finding champions who understand is hard Breastfeeding is always personal Large employers have their own customs, language Human Resources implement, CEOs decide, Find an ally - they pave the way
Develop your Strategy 15 Identify your partners: Do you know who runs WIC in your area? Who is public health is working on lactation? Do you know your local First 5 Commission? Do you know your Women s Commission? Is there a parent of a young child on your Board of Supervisors, City Council, etc. Target organizations that need to improve lactation accommodations: Are your hospitals Baby-Friendly? (SB 502) Does your employer have a policy? Does your County Department of Human Resources have Policy? Target Healthcare and Schools where women work.
Employer Tool Kit 16 Policy Template Policy Training PPT Brochure Poster Checklists http://www.breastfeedingworks.org 2013 updated version TBD
Implementation Strategy 1. Policy Adoption 17 2. Train Staff 3. Share Resources 4. Monitor Compliance
Employed Mothers Need. Time 18 Space Pump Support Atmosphere of Tolerance Communication
Business Case 19 Decreased absenteeism Reduced Health Care Costs Increased retention Policy Adoption Breastfeeding Increases RETURN ON INVESTMENT $4 TO $1
Resources 20 BreastfeedLA's Breastfeeding Works File Claims Self Advocacy Califronia Breastfeeding Coalition US Surgeon General's Call to Action to Support Breastfeeding DHHS, OWH, The Business Case for Breastfeeding Genevieve Colvin, IBCLC gcolvin@breastfeedla.org