Oregon bill supports workplace breast-feeding

SALEM, Ore. – A coalition of lawmakers and women’s groups wants Oregon to join the list of states that require workplace accommodations for breast-feeding.

Senate Bill 618 would require employers to allow flexible breaks and encourage them to establish private places for mothers to nurse their babies or pump breast milk.

But the legislation is facing opposition from the state’s most powerful business association.

The business lobby could press for changes in the bill that would exempt employers from complying unless they have 25 or more employees. That’s up from eight in the original bill.

Other amendments could remove the possibility of civil penalties if employers don’t comply.

The workplace nursing bill was prompted by complaints of workplace pressure and a growing awareness that it’s good for moms – and ultimately employers – when women breast-feed, said Amelia Psmythe, a mother of two and activist for the Nursing Mothers Counsel of Oregon.

A similar bill fizzled in 2003.

Pediatricians recommend six months of exclusive breast-feeding for infants, and a study by the Washington, D.C.-based United States Breast-feeding Committee found that women who are nursing have 27 percent fewer sick days, Psmythe said.

But Julie Brandis, a lobbyist for Associated Oregon Industries, said Oregon businesses already support women and breast-feeding, and a survey of chief executives found that 44 percent already give breaks for breast-feeding.

Even if the bill clears the Democrat-controlled Senate, it could face long odds in the Republican-controlled House.

“We won’t be able to support it unless there are significant changes,” Brandis said.