New York City Council     Members

This bill would require the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) to provide additional information regarding lactation rooms in certain city spaces. DOHMH would be required to include in its list of all public spaces with lactation rooms, the address, hours of operation, and directions to all such lactation rooms and make this list available on its website.

  • Filed (End of Session)

History

City Council
Filed (End of Session)
City Council
Re-referred to Committee by Council
City Council
Referred to Comm by Council
City Council
Introduced by Council

Int. No. 1563

 

By Council Members Cumbo, Cornegy and Gentile

 

A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to requiring information on lactation rooms.

 

Be it enacted by the Council as follows:

 

Section 1. Section 17-199.1 of the administrative code of the city of New York, as added by local law number 94 for the year 2016, is amended to read as follows:

§ 17-199.1 Lactation rooms. a. Definitions. For the purposes of this section, “lactation room” means a sanitary place that is not a restroom that can be used to breastfeed or express milk in private, and which includes an electrical outlet, a chair, and nearby access to running water.

b. Every job center, SNAP center, or medical assistance program center of the department of social services/human resources administration; city-owned borough office of the administration for children’s services and the Nicholas Scoppetta children’s center; and health center operated or maintained by the department shall, where practicable, make at least one lactation room available upon request to an individual utilizing on-site services. The presence of such a lactation room shall not abrogate such an individual’s right to breastfeed in public pursuant to article 7 of the civil rights law.

c. The department shall create a poster containing information on breast-feeding, an individual’s right to nurse in public, and the availability of lactation rooms pursuant to this section. Such poster shall be made available on the department’s website, shall be displayed in any lactation room required to be made available pursuant to this section, and shall be displayed in a clear and conspicuous manner in the waiting room of any public space where a lactation room is required to be made available pursuant to this section. No later than one year after the effective date of the local law adding this subdivision, the department shall create a list of all locations with lactation rooms available pursuant to this section and the addresses, hours of operation, and directions to such locations. Such list shall be made available on the department’s website.

d. The department of education shall submit to the speaker of the city council on or before August 1, 2017, and on or before every August 1 thereafter, a report summarizing the policies at New York city public schools to allow a student or the parent or guardian of a student access to a lactation room upon request. Such report shall indicate how information regarding such policies was communicated to students, parents and guardians during the previous school year.

e. The department may promulgate rules to implement the provisions of this section including, but not limited to, establishing training programs for staff working at locations required to make a lactation room available pursuant to [subdivision b]this section, and providing guidelines concerning the location of a lactation room.

§ 2.                     This local law takes effect July 1, 2017.

 

 

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LS #10151

3/3/2017 2:12pm