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PROPOSAL : PROVISION OF LACTATION ROOMS by X_________
What would you say about a low-cost benefit program that
gets employees back from maternity leave sooner, reduces
absenteeism and improves company morale?
PROPOSAL
Requirements
Benefits to X________
Summary
APPENDIX A: X________’S LACTATION ROOM
APPENDIX B: SUMMARY (H.R. 3531)
APPENDIX C: OTHER CORPORATE PROGRAMS (A
SAMPLE)
Kaiser Permanente
Aetna
Sanvita
ENDNOTES
PROPOSAL
That all X________ sites provide lactation support for
all employees returning from maternity leave who desire
to breastfeed.
Requirements
Minimum Cost:
•Room with locking door and electrical outlet
•$750 (including labor)
•Comfortable chair/sofa$150
•Lactation breaks n/a
total$900
Optional:
•Access to sink$ 0 if located close to restroom
•Small refrigerator$ 99
•Small table$ 75
•Breast Pump$350
•Lactation Consultants(varies)
total$525
Benefits to X________
Reduced absenteeism because of better maternal and infant
health (immediate and long-term)
Lower turnover, "employer of choice", provides
a benefit at no cost to the company while providing a potential
savings in health care costs
Opportunities for good press
Future tax breaks
Summary
The benefits to X________, to employees returning from
maternity leave, and to their infants are numerous while
the cost is negligible.
APPENDIX A: X________’S LACTATION ROOM
X________ has provided a lactation room, located within
one of the women’s restrooms but isolated by a locking door,
for several years. Today it provides a sofa, small refrigerator
(donated), small table, electrical outlet, and breastpump.
(Employees purchase the pump attachments by mail-order or
from several area stores.) Because of its location, sinks
are readily available for mothers to clean their attachments
after use. The locking door has a small white-board on it
for mothers to indicate what time they expect to be done,
so that others who come to use the room can plan when to
return. Another method of scheduling used is e-mailing or
calling the other mothers using the room/pump to set up
times for the day or week. (The board allows for last-minute
changes as work schedules sometimes require.)
Because we have flex-time, lactation breaks are not an
issue. The women make arrangements with their managers/coworkers
and are flexible about taking their breaks to accommodate
work schedules. (They are typically away from their desks
much less than coworkers who smoke.)
Communication regarding the availability of this resource
is handled through occasional articles in the internal newsletter,
as well as word-of-mouth. Both the white-board on the door
and the cork-board in the room include a sign indicating
whom to contact with questions or problems (Employee Services).
We have not utilized professional lactation consultants
at any time. We have had one lunch-time seminar on working
and breastfeeding provided at no cost by La Leche League
(a non-profit nation-wide breastfeeding support group) and
may continue to offer this periodically in the future. In
general, the mothers help each other and/or find their own
consultants.
APPENDIX B: SUMMARY (H.R. 3531)
(AS INTRODUCED)
New Mothers' Breastfeeding Promotion and Protection Act
of 1998 - Amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to include
breastfeeding or expression of milk from the breast to feed
a child among those activities for which a woman may not
be discriminated against in employment.
(Sec. 4) Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a tax
credit for 50 percent of employer expenses for providing
an appropriate environment on business premises for employed
mothers to breastfeed or express milk for their children.
(Sec. 5) Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services
(HHS) to put into effect a performance standard for breast
pumps irrespective of the class to which the device has
been classified under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic
Act, identifying those pumps appropriate for use on a regular
basis in a place of employment based on the efficiency and
effectiveness of the pump and on sanitation factors related
to communal use. Requires the Secretary, acting through
the Commissioner of Food and Drugs, to issue a compliance
policy guide which will assure that women who want to breastfeed
a child are given full and complete information about breast
pumps.
(Sec. 6) Amends the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993
(FMLA), and Federal civil service law, to require family
and medical leave for NURSING mothers' breaks, if the lactating
mothers are entitled to specified leave as private or public
employees under such law. Directs the Secretary of Labor
to promulgate regulations to implement such FMLA requirement.
(Sec. 7) Directs the Secretary of HHS, acting through the
Maternal and Child Health Bureau of the Health Resources
and Services Administration and in cooperation with the
Secretary of Agriculture and other appropriate Federal agency
heads, to undertake a campaign aimed at health professionals
and the general public to promote the benefits of breastfeeding
for infants, mothers, and families, especially public and
private health professionals providing health services under
Federal programs (including those for Federal employees).
(Sec. 8) Amends the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 to allow
State agencies to use funds made available for food benefits
(including savings from infant formula cost containment)
for breastfeeding promotion and support activities under
the special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants,
and children (the WIC program).
APPENDIX C: OTHER CORPORATE PROGRAMS
(A SAMPLE)
Kaiser Permanente
Based on their research, Kaiser Permanente instituted a
lactation program for their members in the North Carolina
region. The program is designed to integrate lactation services
into the continuum of maternal care and to develop policies
that support breastfeeding in the workplace. The anticipated
outcomes include lower medical care costs, optimal long-term
health, and increase in employees’ satisfaction.
Aetna
The Enhance program provides health promotion and fitness
program to their employees. They have a privacy room and
work with area supervisors to accommodate work schedules.
"We’re not asking for any more time away from the work
area than is normally given to other employees. " Aetna
provides the individual accessory kits and the electric
pumps they attach to.
Sanvita
Sanvita is in the business of setting up lactation programs
for companies. They state that "clients are enjoying
a $1.50 to $4.50 return for each dollar invested in"
their programs.
ENDNOTES
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