Compliance · Modular Offices
What the PUMP Act requires for a lactation space, and the fastest way to provide one
Reviewed September 25, 2026. Official sources are linked where they exist.
Short answer
Under the PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act, covered employers must provide reasonable break time and a space, other than a bathroom, that is shielded from view and free from intrusion from coworkers and the public, for an employee to express milk for up to one year after the child's birth. The Department of Labor says the space needs a place to sit and a flat surface other than the floor for the pump, and that a space temporarily created or converted for the purpose is sufficient. A small modular room with a locking door, an outlet, a chair, and a table on the plant floor meets every element and can be relocated when the line changes.
What the law requires
The PUMP Act was signed December 29, 2022 as part of Public Law 117-328, extending the Fair Labor Standards Act's break-time and space protections to nearly all employees; the remedies provisions took effect April 28, 2023. The Department of Labor's Fact Sheet 73A describes the space: shielded from view, free from intrusion, and not a bathroom, even a private one. It must have a place to sit and a flat surface other than the floor on which to place the pump.
Employers with fewer than 50 employees are not subject to the break time and space requirements if compliance would impose an undue hardship, judged against the size, resources, nature, and structure of the business. That is an exception the employer has to be able to support, not an automatic exemption.
Why plants struggle with it
The front office usually has a room. The plant floor, where most of the workforce is, usually does not, and the walk to the office eats the break. The requirement is satisfied by a space that is available when needed and meets the privacy and furnishing tests; it does not have to be permanent construction. That is why a modular room placed near the work area is the practical answer.
What a modular wellness room includes
The room is a 6' x 8' or 8' x 8' modular office shell fitted for the purpose. It is quoted as the room plus the fit-out so it arrives ready to use.
- Solid door, lockable from inside, with an occupancy indicator
- Outlet for the pump and a circuit for a mini-fridge
- Chair and a small table; sink and water hookup optional
- Sound-rated panels where the floor is loud
- Placed near the work area so the walk is short; relocatable later
Questions buyers ask
- Does the space have to be a dedicated, permanent room?
- No. The Department of Labor states that a space temporarily created or converted into a space for expressing milk is sufficient, as long as it is available when needed and meets the privacy, seating, and flat-surface requirements.
- Can we use a bathroom?
- No. A bathroom, even if private, is not a permissible location under the Act.
- We have fewer than 50 employees. Are we exempt?
- Only if compliance would impose an undue hardship judged against the size, resources, nature, and structure of the business. The employer has to be able to support that claim.
- How long does the right last?
- For up to one year after the child's birth, with break time each time the employee needs to express milk.
Do your own research
Official sources first. We link the rule, not a summary of the rule, wherever one exists.
- Fact Sheet #73A: FLSA Protections for Employees to Pump Breast Milk at Work, General Guidance
U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division
Space requirements, seating and flat surface, temporary space sufficiency, one-year duration.
- Fact Sheet #73: FLSA Protections to Pump at Work
U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division
Coverage, the under-50-employee undue hardship provision, and effective dates.
- PUMP at Work
U.S. Department of Labor
Overview page with links to guidance and posters.
What we quote for this
Modular Offices
Wellness and Lactation Room, Modular
A private, lockable, non-bathroom space with power and optional sink hookup for lactation and wellness use.
- Size
- 6' x 8' or 8' x 8' single-user; 8' x 12' for two
- Wall height
- 8'
- Wall system
- Pre-finished panels; sound-rated option
Modular Offices
Quiet Pod and Phone Booth, Plant Floor
A sound-rated one- or two-person room for calls, video, and focused work next to the line.
- Size
- 4' x 6' single; 6' x 8' two-person
- Wall height
- 8'
- Wall system
- Sound-rated panels; STC per panel selection (verify)