Video: New Law to Provide Protections for Breast-Feeding Moms

Throughout August, The Texas Tribune will feature 31 ways Texans' lives will change because of new laws that take effect Sept. 1. Check out our story calendar for more.

As of Sept. 1, a new state law will guarantee that all public employees — including state and county workers and public school teachers — will be guaranteed “reasonable accommodations” to pump breast milk in the workplace. 

Those include sufficient break times and a private room, such as a single-person bathroom, where employees can pump.

Federal law already requires employers to provide accommodations for hourly employees to pump breast milk while at work, but they don’t have to provide those accommodations for salaried workers. In the last legislative session, Democratic state Rep. Armando Walle of Houston pushed for a state law that would mirror those federal regulations for salaried workers.