The FAA Reauthorization Act (H.R. 3935), which was signed into law May 16, 2024, not only reauthorizes the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for five years, but it also provides lactation protection for airline crew members. Section 421 of the bill directs the FAA to issue guidance to airlines regarding the expression of milk by crewmembers.
Section 421 states that the guidance shall apply equally to all lactating crewmembers. It instructs the FAA to consider multiple methods by which crewmembers could express breast milk, including wearable lactation technology. It also forbids the FAA to require an air carrier to incur significant expense, such as by adding a crewmember so that the lactating crewmember can take a break; removing or retrofitting aircraft seats; or modifying or retrofitting an aircraft.
The guidance is designed to fill a gap left by the PUMP Act, which expanded workplace protections for lactating employees but exempted crewmembers of air carriers. The deadline for the FAA to issue the guidance is November 12, 2024.
Members of the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC), our affiliated nonprofit membership association, can read more here.