Michigan: Lactation Break and Space Requirements

Ordinary private employment follows federal law

Michigan has not enacted a general private-employer law adding pumping time,
pay, room features, a request process, a written policy, or a state workplace
remedy. For covered employment, federal § 218d(a) requires reasonable break
time each time needed for one year after birth and a place other than a bathroom
that is shielded from view and free from intrusion.

Federal § 218d(b) permits unpaid time unless another law requires compensation,
but the whole break is hours worked when the employee is not completely relieved
from duty. An employer with fewer than 50 employees is not automatically exempt:
§ 218d(c) requires proof of significant difficulty or expense in relation to the
business. Federal § 218d(g)-(h) supplies the notice rule before many space claims
and preserves more-protective state and local law.

MDHHS employees have a separate agency policy

Michigan Department of Health and Human Services policy APO 220 is an agency
boundary, not a private-employer statute or a policy for every Michigan public
employee. It says MDHHS provides breastfeeding employees reasonable expression
breaks and private space. The policy describes two to four sessions in an
eight-hour period, up to about 30 minutes each during the first 12 months; later
room use may continue with supervisor permission.

Every building with MDHHS employees must provide a private space. A vacant
office, conference room, or other small area may be used when it is not visible
or accessible to others during use. The location cannot be a toilet stall or
restroom. It needs a working lock or an in-use sign, privacy from coworkers and
the public, and privacy between simultaneous users. At minimum it contains a
comfortable chair, small table, electrical outlet, and flat surface. A nearby
sink and refrigerator are listed as helpful, not required. The employee is
responsible for milk storage, and MDHHS does not provide breast pumps.

APO 220 also requires the lactation policy in new-employee orientation and
FLSA-rights information in lactation rooms and other conspicuous places. Its
instruction not to discriminate against employees for expressing milk is an
MDHHS policy rule; the document does not create a separate statewide
private-employer complaint or damages system.

A live bill would add discrimination protection, not a room rule

MI SB 34 would amend the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act's employment definition
of sex to include lactating status. That would affect the state employment-
discrimination framework, but the bill does not prescribe break frequency,
duration, pay, pumping-room features, equipment, requests, written policies, or
response deadlines. The Senate passed it 22-14 on April 17, 2025, and it remained
in House Health Policy as of July 28, 2026.

What trips people up

The detailed Michigan room checklist is agency-specific. The lock, chair,
table, outlet, orientation, and posting rules come from an MDHHS policy. They
should not be presented as Michigan's general private-workplace minimums.

A discrimination bill is not a pumping-break bill. SB 34 would add lactating
status to an employment civil-rights definition. It would not itself supply the
time, room, pay, equipment, or policy duties addressed in this survey.

Common questions

Must private-sector pumping time be paid in Michigan?

Michigan has no pumping-specific private-sector pay add-on. Federal § 218d(b)
allows unpaid time unless another law requires pay, but makes the whole break
work time if the employee is not completely relieved from duty.

Does a private Michigan employer have to provide a lock, chair, or outlet?

No Michigan private-employer statute lists those items. Federal § 218d(a)
requires a functional private non-bathroom place. The lock, chair, table, and
outlet details belong to the separate MDHHS policy.

Does Michigan require a private employer to publish a lactation policy?

Not under current state law. APO 220 requires orientation and posting within
MDHHS, but it does not impose that process on ordinary private employers.

Statutes and sources

• Michigan MDHHS Lactation Room Policy, APO 220 — agency-specific break,
  room, equipment, orientation, posting, storage, and conduct rules.

  All buildings with MDHHS employees will provide private space for employees
  to breastfeed or express milk.

Contain at a minimum a comfortable chair, small table, electrical outlet,
and a counter or other flat surface for each nursing employee the space will
support.

Official source: https://dhhs.michigan.gov/olmweb/ex/AP/Public/APO/220.pdf (accessed 2026-07-21)
- 29 U.S.C. § 218d(a)-(c), (g)-(h) — federal time, space, pay, hardship,
notice, and greater-protection rules.

An employer shall provide—(1) a reasonable break time for an employee to
express breast milk for such employee's nursing child for 1 year after the
child's birth each time such employee has need to express the milk; and (2)
a place, other than a bathroom, that is shielded from view and free from
intrusion from coworkers and the public, which may be used by an employee
to express breast milk.

Official source: https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title29-section218d&num=0&edition=prelim (accessed 2026-07-21)
- MI SB 34 (2025-2026 Session) — live proposed lactating-status amendment
to the state employment-discrimination definition.

“Sex” includes, but is not limited to, pregnancy or lactating status,
childbirth, the termination of a pregnancy, or a related medical condition.

Official source: https://legislature.mi.gov/Bills/Bill?ObjectName=2025-SB-0034 (checked 2026-07-28)