Employers Take Notice: Paid Lactation Break Requirements Under Washington’s Healthy Starts Act Take Effect January 1, 2027

Advisory

Washington employers have less than two months to get ready for paid lactation breaks that are in addition to regular rest and meal breaks. On January 1, 2027, amendments to Washington’s Healthy Starts Act take effect. The newly amended law requires employers, for the first time, to pay employees at their regular compensation rate, for up to two years after a child’s birth, for time spent expressing breast milk at work and for time spent traveling to a location the employer and employee identify for that purpose. Employers cannot require employees to use paid leave for this time, and the breaks are in addition to meal and rest periods. The Washington Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) has proposed rules on point that are expected to be finalized in November, but employers should be planning now to implement the changes no later than January 1. (Employers can monitor this site for finalized rules.)

The amendments also extend the Act to every employer with one or more employees, including religious and sectarian nonprofits. Current law reaches only employers with 15 or more employees. Employers that were not previously covered should review their policies now and update them to comply with all portions of the Act, not just the paid-break requirement. Enforcement moves from the Attorney General to L&I, which can assess civil penalties, and employees may also sue to enjoin violations and to recover actual damages and attorneys’ fees.

In the proposed rules, if L&I assesses a civil penalty, it would be at least $1,500 per violation for employers with fewer than 15 employees and $3,000 per violation for larger employers, with each occurrence affecting an individual employee counted as a separate violation. L&I has discretion to reduce or waive a penalty if the employer takes corrective action.

Practical Steps: What Employers Should Do Now

Fix timekeeping and payroll. Confirm that lactation breaks are not coded as unpaid, deducted from hours, or charged to paid time off. Employers should also ensure that employees continue to take full, legally compliant rest and meal breaks (unless a valid meal period waiver is in place).
Assess impact on overtime. The statute and L&I’s proposed rules do not address whether paid lactation break time counts as hours worked for overtime. L&I treats paid rest breaks as hours worked because they occur on the employer’s time. The same is generally true with paid meal breaks. Because lactation breaks are also paid, unless L&I advises otherwise, the conservative view is to count lactation break and travel time as hours worked. Employers looking to limit overtime costs should plan staffing and schedules around paid lactation breaks rather than expect employees to make up the time.
Review incentive and productivity metrics. L&I’s proposed rules would bar employers from penalizing employees whose use of lactation breaks affects their ability to meet quotas, points, or other incentive measures. Check commission plans, productivity targets, and automated scoring for any impact on protected time.
Assess where your lactation room is. Because travel time to the room is now paid, a room that requires a long walk or a trip across a campus costs both time and money. Consider whether a closer private space, other than a bathroom, is feasible. If a worksite has no suitable space, the employer must work with the employee to identify a convenient location and schedule.
Plan for breaks of reasonable length. The Act gives employees “reasonable break time” each time they need to express milk. While the statute does not define what is reasonable, L&I’s proposed rules would define “reasonable break time” as a break that is “appropriate, adequate, or proportionate given the circumstances,” with no fixed length. The proposal identifies factors that impact what length of break is reasonable, including travel time to and from the lactation location, travel time to and from any separate milk storage location, and the time needed to clean milk expression equipment. Employers should be cautious about imposing fixed limits on the length or frequency of breaks.
Train managers. Managers should not discipline employees for attendance, being away from their desks, or alleged time fraud when the time involves a lactation break or travel to one, and they must not demand a doctor’s note or require use of paid leave for lactation breaks. Retaliation is an unfair practice. Check that attendance policies and automated timekeeping alerts do not flag protected time.
Prepare managers for other pregnancy-related accommodation requests. The Act’s accommodation requirements are detailed and go beyond lactation breaks, so managers should loop in Human Resources early on any pregnancy-related request. Managers who are experienced with handling other disability accommodations under federal or state law may try to apply those same rules, so they need to be trained that pregnancy-related accommodation is different. For example, under the Act, employers may not request a doctor’s note or claim undue hardship for the following accommodations: restroom breaks, changes to a “no food or drink” policy, seating, or limits on lifting over 17 pounds. The federal Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (which applies to employers with 15 or more employees) has its own requirements.
Update policies. Remove any language that treats lactation breaks as unpaid or requires medical certification for them, adopt or update a pregnancy accommodation policy that addresses all portions of the Act if you were not previously covered, and coordinate with labor relations for unionized workforces.
Prepare for L&I enforcement. Before issuing an order, L&I must first contact the employer and attempt in good faith to reach agreement on an accommodation. Respond promptly to any L&I contact and document the accommodations you have offered.

With the January 1 effective date rapidly approaching, employers that start now can be ready on day one and avoid the risk of early claims for noncompliance.

© Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP 2026 All Rights Reserved. This Advisory is intended to be a general summary of the law and does not constitute legal advice. You should consult with counsel to determine applicable legal requirements in a specific fact situation.