Existing law generally requires the superior court, as an employer, to provide employees with the use of a lactation room or other location for employees to express milk in private, including, among other things, a clean and safe place to sit. Existing law requires the superior court, commencing July 1, 2026, to provide any court user access to a lactation room in any courthouse in which a lactation room is also provided to court employees, as specified.

Existing law requires an employer to provide a reasonable amount of break time to accommodate an employee desiring to express breast milk for the employees infant child each time the employee has need to express milk.

This bill would, commencing July 1, 2026, require the superior court to provide any court user who is participating in an ongoing court proceeding with a reasonable amount of break time during a court proceeding to allow the court user to express breast milk for the users infant child, as specified. The bill would require the Judicial Council to adopt or amend rules of court or forms to implement this requirement on or before January 1, 2026. The bill would require the rules of court or forms to provide a confidential process for the court user to request the break time. The bill would specify that these provisions do not affect existing obligations imposed by law upon a superior court as an employer.

Existing law generally requires the superior court, as an employer, to provide employees with the use of a lactation room or other location for employees to express milk in private, including, among other things, a clean and safe place to sit. Existing law requires the superior court, commencing July 1, 2026, to provide any court user access to a lactation room in any courthouse in which a lactation room is also provided to court employees, as specified.

Existing law requires an employer to provide a reasonable amount of break time to accommodate an employee desiring to express breast milk for the employees infant child each time the employee has need to express milk.

This bill would, commencing July 1, 2026, require the superior court to provide any court user who is participating in an ongoing court proceeding with a reasonable amount of break time during a court proceeding to allow the court user to express breast milk for the users infant child, as specified. The bill would require the Judicial Council to adopt or amend rules of court or forms to implement this requirement on or before January 1, 2026. The bill would require the rules of court or forms to provide a confidential process for the court user to request the break time. The bill would specify that these provisions do not affect existing obligations imposed by law upon a superior court as an employer.

Existing law generally requires the superior court, as an employer, to provide employees with the use of a lactation room or other location for employees to express milk in private, including, among other things, a clean and safe place to sit. Existing law requires the superior court, commencing July 1, 2026, to provide any court user access to a lactation room in any courthouse in which a lactation room is also provided to court employees, as specified. Existing law authorizes a superior court to comply by designating a lactation room for court users without access to a sink with running water and a refrigerator suitable for storing milk or other cooling device suitable for storing milk due to operational, financial, or space limitations.

Existing law requires an employer to provide a reasonable amount of break time to accommodate an employee desiring to express breast milk for the employees infant child each time the employee has need to express milk.

This bill would, commencing July 1, 2026, require the superior court to provide any court user who is participating in an ongoing court proceeding with a reasonable amount of break time during a court proceeding to allow the court user to express breast milk for the users infant child each time the court user has need to express breast milk. child, as specified. The bill would require the Judicial Council to adopt or amend rules of court or forms to implement this requirement on or before January 1, 2026. The bill would require the rules of court or forms to provide a confidential process for the court user to request the break time. The bill would specify that these provisions do not affect existing obligations imposed by law upon a superior court as an employer.

Existing law generally requires the superior court, as an employer, to provide employees with the use of a lactation room or other location for employees to express milk in private, including, among other things, a clean and safe place to sit. Existing law requires the superior court, commencing July 1, 2026, to provide any court user access to a lactation room in any courthouse in which a lactation room is also provided to court employees, as specified. Existing law authorizes a superior court to comply by designating a lactation room for court users without access to a sink with running water and a refrigerator suitable for storing milk or other cooling device suitable for storing milk due to operational, financial, or space limitations.

Existing law requires an employer to provide a reasonable amount of break time to accommodate an employee desiring to express breast milk for the employees infant child each time the employee has need to express milk.

This bill would, commencing July 1, 2026, require the superior court to provide any court user with a reasonable amount of break time during a court proceeding to allow the court user to express breast milk for the users infant child each time the court user has need to express breast milk. The bill would require the Judicial Council to adopt or amend rules of court or forms to implement this requirement on or before January 1, 2026. The bill would require the rules of court or forms to provide a confidential process for the court user to request the break time.

Existing law generally requires the superior court, as an employer, to provide employees with the use of a lactation room or other location for employees to express milk in private, including, among other things, a clean and safe place to sit. Existing law requires the superior court, commencing July 1, 2026, to provide any court user access to a lactation room in any courthouse in which a lactation room is also provided to court employees, as specified.

Existing law requires an employer to provide a reasonable amount of break time to accommodate an employee desiring to express breast milk for the employees infant child each time the employee has need to express milk.

This bill would, commencing July 1, 2026, require the superior court to provide any court user with a reasonable amount of break time during a court proceeding to allow the court user to express breast milk for the users infant child each time the court user has need to express breast milk. The bill would require the Judicial Council to adopt or amend rules of court or forms to implement this requirement on or before January 1, 2026.

 UNFINISHED BUSINESS  

Bill No: SB 949

Author: Blakespear (D), et al.

Amended: 6/5/24

Vote: 21

SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: 11-0, 4/2/24

AYES: Umberg, Wilk, Allen, Ashby, Caballero, Durazo, Laird, Min, Niello, Stern, Wahab

SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8

SENATE FLOOR: 36-0, 4/25/24 (Consent)

AYES: Alvarado-Gil, Archuleta, Ashby, Atkins, Becker, Blakespear, Bradford, Caballero, Cortese, Dodd, Durazo, Glazer, Gonzalez, Grove, Hurtado, Jones, Laird, Limón, McGuire, Menjivar, Min, Newman, Nguyen, Niello, Padilla, Portantino, Roth, Rubio, Seyarto, Skinner, Smallwood-Cuevas, Stern, Umberg, Wahab, Wiener, Wilk

NO VOTE RECORDED: Allen, Dahle, Eggman, Ochoa Bogh

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 75-0, 6/26/24 (Consent) - See last page for vote

SUBJECT: Superior court: lactation accommodation

SOURCE: Author

DIGEST:

This bill requires a superior court to provide a lactating court user participating in a court proceeding with a confidential way to request and obtain a break during the court proceeding so the court user can express breast milk, and requires Judicial Council to adopt or amend rules of court to facilitate court user lactation breaks.

Assembly Amendments

moved this bill’s content into a new section of the Government Code; clarified that a court user must be participating in an ongoing court proceeding in order to take advantage of the break time provided; and states that nothing in the bill affects any requirements imposed by law on a superior court as an employer in relation to its employees.

ANALYSIS:

Existing law:

1. Requires every employer to provide a reasonable amount of break time to accommodate an employee desiring to express breast milk for the employee’s infant child each time the employee has need to express milk. The break time shall, if possible, run concurrently with any break time already provided to the employee; if it does not run concurrently as specified, the break time may be unpaid. (Lab. Code, § 1030.)
2. Requires an employer to provide an employee with the use of a room or other location (room) for the employee to express milk in private, which must satisfy the following conditions:
   1. The room may include the place where the employee normally works, provided that it meets the requirements of b)-h);
   2. The room may not be a bathroom;
   3. The room must be in close proximity to the employee’s work area, shielded from view, and free from intrusion while the employee is expressing milk;
   4. The room must be safe, clean, and free of hazardous materials, as defined;
   5. The room must contain a surface to place a breast pump and personal items;
   6. The room must contain a place to sit;
   7. The room must have access to electricity or alternative devices, including, but not limited to, extension cords or charging stations, needed to operate an electric or battery-powered breast pump;
   8. There must be access to a sink with running water and a refrigerator or other equipment suitable for storing milk in close proximity to the employee’s workspace;
   9. When a multispace room is used for lactation, the use of the room for lactation must take precedence over the other uses, but only for the time it is in use for lactation purposes;
   10. An employer that employs fewer than 50 employees may be exempt from the requirement if it can demonstrate that the requirement would impose an undue hardship, as specified. (Lab. Code, § 1031.)
3. Requires, beginning July 1, 2026, a superior court to provide any court user access to a lactation room in any courthouse in which a lactation room is also provided to court employees in compliance with 2);
   1. The lactation room for court users shall be located within the court facility in an area that is accessible to the public or reasonably accessible to the public using the court facility;
   2. The lactation room shall meet all of the requirements of 2). (Gov. Code, § 69894 (operative July 1, 2026).)
4. Permits a superior court to comply with 3) without providing access to a sink with running water and a refrigerator or other cooling device suitable for storing milk if due to operational, financial, or space limitations [sic].^[1] In such a case, the lactation room shall not be a bathroom, shall be shielded from view and free from intrusion while it is being used by a court user to express milk, and shall otherwise be compliant with 2). (Gov. Code, § 69894(b).)

Existing Rules of Court:

Permit a parent who is breastfeeding a child to request that jury service be deferred for up to one year, and permits the parent to renew the request as long as they are breastfeeding. If the request is made in writing, under penalty of perjury, the jury commissioner must grant it without requiring the prospective juror to appear at court. (Cal. Rules of Ct., r. 2.1006.)

This bill:

1. Requires, beginning July 1, 2026, a superior court to provide any court user who is participating in an ongoing court proceeding a reasonable amount of break time during the court proceeding in which the court user is participating to allow the court user to express breast milk for the individual’s infant child pursuant to the confidential process described in 2).
2. Requires the Judicial Council, on or before January 1, 2026, to adopt or amend rules of court or forms to implement 2), including establishing a confidential process for the court user to request the break time.
3. States that nothing in the bill affects any requirements imposed by law upon a superior court as an employer in relation to its employees, including, but not limited to, the requirements for employers to accommodate the needs of lactating employees in the Labor Code.

Comments

For parents who choose to breastfeed their children, finding a private, sanitary location to do so can be a struggle. Since 2002, California has required workplaces to make accommodations for breastfeeding employees. (AB 1025, Frommer, Chapter 821, Statutes of 2001) Beginning July 1, 2026, the courts will be required to provide court users access to courthouse lactation rooms provided to court employees or to another lactation space that is shielded from view and free from intrusion while being used to express milk. Current law does not, however, provide guidance as to when the courts must give breastfeeding court users time to express milk.

This bill intends to close this gap by requiring a superior court, beginning July 1, 2026, to provide a court user participating in an ongoing court proceeding with a reasonable amount of break time during the court proceeding in which they are participating to allow them to express breast milk, when the court user makes the request through the specified confidential process. The bill also requires the Judicial Council to adopt or amend rules of court or forms to implement this the confidential process by which a court user may request break time. These provisions intend to ensure that breastfeeding individuals are not unfairly disadvantaged by the court system by virtue of their decision to breastfeed.

FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: No

According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, Judicial Council reports minor and absorbable costs to adopt or amend rules of court to govern the request and provision of lactation breaks for court users.

SUPPORT: (Verified 6/26/24)

American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists District IX

California WIC Association

Consumer Attorneys of California

Judicial Council of California

One individual

OPPOSITION: (Verified 6/26/24)

None received

ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the Consumer Attorneys of California:

Existing law requires most employers, including superior courts, to provide lactating employees with a reasonable amount of break time and access to a lactation room or other appropriate space where the employee can express breastmilk in private. Lactating people called for jury duty can defer their services as long as they are breastfeeding.

However, the tens of thousands of attorneys, parties to lawsuits, witnesses, interpreters, court reporters, and others required to attend court each day are not currently entitled access to a lactation room while at court because they are not court employees. This problem is partially solved by Government Code § 69894, which requires, by July 1, 2026, any superior court with a lactation room for court employees to also provide members of the public access to a lactation room.

Unfortunately having a lactation room available does not actually guarantee a person will be able to use it. Under current law, a person must ask a judge for a break in the proceedings to use a lactation room. Not only can a public request cause people to feel discomfort, but it is also entirely up to the judge’s discretion whether to approve the request.

SB 949 solves this problem by requiring courts to grant reasonable break time during court proceedings for any lactating person. SB 949 directs the Judicial Council to adopt or amend rules of the court, including any forms, for a lactating person to confidentially request breaks. The effective date coincides with the date courts must have lactation rooms available to the public. Therefore, this bill does not require any new accommodations to be built. Instead, it simply ensures that every person can use a lactation room when necessary.

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 75-0, 6/26/24

AYES: Addis, Aguiar-Curry, Alanis, Alvarez, Arambula, Bains, Bauer-Kahan, Bennett, Berman, Boerner, Bonta, Bryan, Calderon, Juan Carrillo, Wendy Carrillo, Cervantes, Chen, Connolly, Megan Dahle, Davies, Dixon, Essayli, Flora, Mike Fong, Friedman, Gabriel, Gallagher, Garcia, Grayson, Haney, Hart, Holden, Hoover, Irwin, Jackson, Kalra, Lackey, Lee, Low, Lowenthal, Maienschein, McCarty, McKinnor, Muratsuchi, Stephanie Nguyen, Ortega, Pacheco, Jim Patterson, Joe Patterson, Pellerin, Petrie-Norris, Quirk-Silva, Ramos, Rendon, Reyes, Luz Rivas, Rodriguez, Blanca Rubio, Sanchez, Santiago, Schiavo, Soria, Ta, Ting, Valencia, Villapudua, Waldron, Wallis, Ward, Weber, Wicks, Wilson, Wood, Zbur, Robert Rivas

NO VOTE RECORDED: Gipson, Jones-Sawyer, Mathis, Papan

Prepared by: Allison Whitt Meredith / JUD. / (916) 651-4113

6/27/24 15:38:59

**** END ****

1. This incomplete sentence is currently in statute. AB 3280 (Committee on Judiciary) amends the affected section, thereby eliminating the error. ↑

Date of Hearing: June 19, 2024

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

Buffy Wicks, Chair

SBPCA Bill Id:SB 949

Author:(Blakespear) – As Amended Ver:June 5, 2024

Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: No Reimbursable: No

SUMMARY:

This bill requires a superior court to provide a lactating court user participating in a court proceeding with a confidential way to request and obtain a break during the court proceeding so the court user can express breast milk, and requires Judicial Council to adopt or amend rules of court to facilitate court user lactation breaks.

FISCAL EFFECT:

Judicial Council reports minor and absorbable costs to adopt or amend rules of court to govern the request and provision of lactation breaks for court users.

COMMENTS:

1. Purpose. According to the author:

Accommodating the needs of mothers and ensuring they can breastfeed or express milk when they need to is essential for the health and well-being of both mothers and their babies. Senate Bill 949 makes it clear that courts must fully accommodate all people who must be at court, not just court employees.

1. Background. In 2021, the Legislature authorized legislation requiring each court that provides a lactation room to court employees to also provide access to a lactation room for any member of the public using the courts. (See AB 1576 (Committee on Judiciary), Chapter 200, Statutes of 2021.) The law granted courts some flexibility in complying with this public access requirement by exempting the courts from certain Labor Code requirements where operational, financial, or space limitations exist. The Budget Act of 2022 appropriated $15 million to the courts to construct, install, or renovate spaces to provide court users with access to lactation rooms, and subsequent legislation pushed back the implementation date, requiring the courts to provide court users access to lactation rooms by July 1, 2026.

This bill requires a superior court to, beginning July 1, 2026, provide a court user participating in an ongoing court proceeding a reasonable amount of break time during the proceeding to express breast milk, and requires the court to provide a confidential means of requesting such a break. This would allow court users like jury members, witnesses, and crime victims to confidentially request and take breaks during court proceedings for the purpose of expressing breast milk.

1. Related Legislation. AB 3280 (Committee on Judiciary) requires Judicial Council to submit an annual report to the Legislature about the courts’ progress on providing lactation rooms to court users, with the first report due by March 1, 2025. AB 3280 is pending in the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Analysis Prepared by: Annika Carlson / APPR. / (916) 319-2081

Date of Hearing: June 4, 2024

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY

Ash Kalra, Chair

SBPCA Bill Id:SB 949

Author:(Blakespear) – As Amended Ver:March 5, 2024

PROPOSED CONSENT (As Proposed to be Amended)

SENATE VOTE: 36-0

SUBJECT: SUPERIOR COURT: LACTATION ACCOMMODATION

KEY ISSUE: SHOULD SUPERIOR COURTS BE REQUIRED TO PROVIDE LACTATING COURT USERS WITH A CONFIDENTIAL MEANS TO REQUEST AND OBTAIN A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF BREAK TIME TO ALLOW THE COURT USER TO EXPRESS BREAST MILK?

SYNOPSIS

Under current law (and practice in many, if not most, counties), attorneys, interpreters, and court reporters, who spend a considerable part of their day at the courthouse, do not have a right to use the lactation facilities in courthouses that courts install for their employees. In 2021, the Committee’s bill, AB 1576 was signed into law (Chap. 200, Stats. 2021). AB 1576 required superior courts to provide all court users with access to a lactation room in any courthouse in which a lactation room is provided to court employees in compliance with existing law (Section 1031 of the Labor Code, which requires employers to provide lactation rooms to employees). Lactation rooms, when required to be provided, must be open to all court users, not just attorneys and officers of the court. While AB 1576 will take effect on July 1, 2026, when presumably lactation rooms will be available to court users, it does not require that courts provide breaks to court users who need to express breast milk.

This author-sponsored bill requires, beginning July 1, 2026, the superior court to provide any court user who is participating in an ongoing court proceeding a reasonable amount of break time during the court proceeding in which the court user is participating to allow the court user to express breast milk for the individual’s infant child. It also requires, on or before January 1, 2026, the Judicial Council to adopt or amend rules of court or forms to implement this requirement; and requires the rules of court or forms to provide a confidential process for the court user to request the break time.

The author proposes the following minor clarifying amendments to do the following: (1) strike out Section 1 of the bill to eliminate the conflict with AB 3280; (2) add language so that a court must provide a break to a court user pursuant to the confidential process outlined by the bill; and (3) add a new subdivision to clarify that the bill does not affect the duties that a superior court has as an employer in relation to its employees, including the duties specified in Section 1030 and 1031 of the Labor Code. The amendments are included in the SUMMARY, below, and explained in the analysis. The bill is supported by several public health advocacy and legal organizations, as well as the Judicial Council of California. It has no opposition on file.

SUMMARY: Requires superior courts to provide lactating court users who are participating in a court proceeding with a confidential means to request break time during the court proceeding and provide the court user with a reasonable amount of break time to allow the court user to express breast milk. Specifically, this bill:

1. Requires, beginning July 1, 2026, the superior court to provide any court user who is participating in an ongoing court proceeding a reasonable amount of break time during the court proceeding in which the court user is participating to allow the court user to express breast milk for the individual’s infant child pursuant to the confidential process described in 2).
2. Requires, on or before January 1, 2026, the Judicial Council to adopt or amend rules of court or forms to implement 1); and requires the rules of court or forms to provide a confidential process for the court user to request the break time.
3. Clarifies that the requirements of the bill do not affect any requirements imposed by law upon a superior court as an employer in relation to its employees, including but not limited to, the requirements of employers to accommodate the needs of lactating employees specified in Sections 1030 and 1031 of the Labor Code.

EXISTING LAW:

1. Requires the superior court to provide any court user access to a lactation room in any courthouse in which a lactation room is also provided to court employees in compliance with Section 1031 of the Labor Code. The lactation room for court users shall be located within the court facility in an area that is accessible to the public or in any location that is reasonably accessible to the public using the court facility. The lactation room for court users shall meet all of the requirements of Section 1031 of the Labor Code. (Government Code Section 69894 (a).)
2. Provides that notwithstanding 1), a superior court may comply with the requirement to provide court users with access to a lactation room by designating for their use a room for expressing milk that does not comply with the requirements of subdivision (d) of Section 1031 of the Labor Code, due to operational, financial, or space limitations; however, the lactation room shall not be a bathroom, shall be shielded from view and free from intrusion while it is being used by a court user to express milk, and shall otherwise be compliant with this section. (Id., at (b).)
3. Provides that the above requirements shall become operative on July 1, 2026. (Id. at (c).)
4. Requires an employer to provide employees with the use of a lactation room or other location for employees to express milk in private. (Labor Code Section 1031 (a).)
5. Specifies that a lactation room or location provided by an employer to employees, as specified in 4), is required to comply with all of the following:
6. Be safe, clean, and free of hazardous materials.
7. Contain a surface to place a breast pump and personal items.
8. Contain a place to sit.
9. Have access to electricity or alternative devices, including, but not limited to, extension cords or charging stations, needed to operate an electric or battery-powered breast pump. (Id., at (c).)
10. Requires an employer, in meeting the requirement in 4), to provide access to a sink with running water and a refrigerator suitable for storing milk in close proximity to the employee’s workspace. If a refrigerator cannot be provided, an employer may provide another cooling device suitable for storing milk, such as an employer-provided cooler. (Id., at (d).)

FISCAL EFFECT: As currently in print this bill is keyed fiscal.

COMMENTS: This bill requires superior courts to provide lactating court users who are participating in a court proceeding with a confidential means to request break time during the court proceeding and provide the court user with a reasonable amount of break time to allow the court user to express breast milk. According to the author:

Present law requires the superior court to provide employees with the use of a lactation room and beginning July 1, 2026, to have a lactation room available to the public in any courthouse that has one for court employees. Senate Bill 949 goes a step further and requires superior courts to provide courtroom breaks for a non-employee, such as a lawyer or juror, who needs to pump breast milk.

Accommodating the needs of mothers and ensuring they can breastfeed or express milk when they need to is essential for the health and well-being of both mothers and their babies. Senate Bill 949 makes it clear that courts must fully accommodate all people who must be at court, not just court employees.

The critical importance of lactation facilities in courthouses. Under current law (and practice in many, if not most, counties), attorneys, interpreters, and court reporters, who spend a considerable part of their day at the courthouse, do not have a right to use the lactation facilities in courthouses that courts are required to provide to their employees. Even though they are officers of the court, these personnel often are not employees of the court. Members of the public, including witnesses, crime victims, jurors, and family members of litigants may spend many hours, days, or even weeks in court without access to a lactation facility. Many of these court users end up having to use public bathrooms -- or even their vehicles in court parking lots -- to express breast milk. Although some courts may allow attorneys or other officers of the court to use these already existing facilities, others do not. Few, if any, courts now allow public access to their employee lactation rooms.

History of Advocacy for Lactation Rooms in Courthouses. In 2021, this Committee’s bill, AB 1576 was signed into law (Chap. 200, Stats. 2021). AB 1576 required superior courts to provide all court users with access to a lactation room in any courthouse in which a lactation room is provided to court employees in compliance with existing law (Section 1031 of the Labor Code, which requires employers to provide lactation rooms to employees). Lactation rooms, when required to be provided, must be open to all court users, not just attorneys and officers of the court. AB 1576 gave courts some flexibility in how to meet the requirement to provide lactation rooms in courthouses. It specified that the lactation rooms were not required to meet all of the legal requirements set forth in the Labor Code if the court cannot meet those requirements due to operational, financial, or space limitations, provided that the alternative lactation accommodations are not a bathroom, shielded from view, free from intrusion while being used to express milk, and reasonably accessible to the public using the court facility. This language, for example, allows courts to install the same relatively inexpensive lactation “pods” that are now widely used in public buildings such as airports. Finally, AB 1576 delayed the implementation date of the lactation room requirement until July 1, 2024.

In order to provide funding for the AB 1576 requirement, the Legislature appropriated $15 million to the Judicial Council “for the purpose of providing court users access to a lactation room in any courthouse in which a lactation room is also provided to court employees.” (See Item 0250-001-0001 of Section 2.00 of the Budget Act of 2022 (AB 178 (Committee on Budget), Chap. 45, Stats. 2022).) Pursuant to SB 133 ((Committee on Budget) Chap. 34, Stats. 2023), the lactation room requirement was delayed until July 1, 2026. Although the courts have received $15 million dollars towards its efforts to come into compliance with the lactation room requirement, it is unknown and unclear what progress, if any, the courts have made towards meeting the upcoming 2026 deadline. Furthermore, it is unknown and unclear whether the courts have used the previously appropriated funds in a prudent manner (i.e. acquiring and using inexpensive lactation pods or retrofitting unused rooms that have locking doors and electrical outlets for use as lactation rooms), or have embarked on lavish construction projects that will result in very few rooms being made available to the public.

This bill requires, beginning July 1, 2026, the superior court to provide any court user who is participating in an ongoing court proceeding a reasonable amount of break time during the court proceeding in which the court user is participating to allow the court user to express breast milk for the individual’s infant child. It also requires, on or before January 1, 2026, the Judicial Council to adopt or amend rules of court or forms to implement this requirement; and requires the rules of court or forms to provide a confidential process for the court user to request the break time. According to the author, “The idea for this legislation came from a District 38 resident, a breastfeeding attorney who had to request a break in court proceedings and explicitly announce she needed to leave in order to pump breast milk. She wishes she had a confidential way to privately request a break. With SB 949 in place, such breaks will be treated as routine accessibility accommodations and not as discretionary disruptions to proceedings.”

The bill in print does not clarify whether the “court user” could be a court employee and whether the bill could therefore be interpreted to override provisions in existing law that govern an employer’s responsibility to provide accommodations to employees. The bill in print also conflicts with a bill authored by the Committee, AB 3280, although not in any substantive way. It merely corrects a drafting error in Section 69894 of the Government Code, dealing with the responsibility of the courts to provide lactation rooms to court users by July of 2026.

Author’s amendments. In order to address the above issues, the author proposes the following minor clarifying amendments. The amendments do the following: (1) strike out Section 1 of the bill to eliminate the conflict with AB 3280; (2) add language so that a court must provide a break to a court user pursuant to the confidential process outlined by the bill; and (3) add a new subdivision to clarify that the bill does not affect the duties that a superior court has as an employer in relation to its employees, including the duties specified in Section 1030 and 1031 of the Labor Code. The amendments to Section 2 of the bill would read as follows:

69894.1. (a) Beginning July 1, 2026, the superior court shall provide any court user who is participating in an ongoing court proceeding a reasonable amount of break time during a the court proceeding in which the court user is participating to allow the court user to express breast milk for the individual’s infant child each time the individual has need to express breast milk pursuant to the confidential process described in subdivision (b).

(b) On or before January 1, 2026, the Judicial Council shall adopt or amend rules of court or forms to implement this section. The rules of court or forms shall provide a confidential process for the court user to request the break time.

(c) The requirements of this section do not affect any requirements imposed by law upon a superior court as an employer in relation to its employees, including but not limited to, the requirements of employers to accommodate the needs of lactating employees specified in Sections 1030 and 1031 of the Labor Code.

ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: The California WIC Association writes the following:

Existing law requires most employers, including superior courts, to provide lactating employees with a reasonable amount of break time and access to a lactation room or other appropriate space where the employee can express breastmilk in private. . . .

However, the tens of thousands of attorneys, parties to lawsuits, witnesses, interpreters, court reporters, and others required to attend court each day are not currently entitled access to a lactation room while at court because they are not court employees. This problem is partially solved by Government Code §69894, which requires, by July 1, 2026, any superior court with a lactation room for court employees to also provide members of the public access to a lactation room.

But having a lactation room available does not actually guarantee a person will be able to use it. Under current law, a person must ask a judge for a break in the proceedings to use a lactation room. Not only can a public request cause people to feel discomfort, but it is also entirely up to the judge’s discretion whether to approve the request.

SB 949 solves this problem by requiring courts to grant reasonable break time during court proceedings for any lactating person.

REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:

Support

American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists District IX

California WIC Association

Consumer Attorneys of California

Judicial Council of California

Opposition

None on file

Analysis Prepared by: Alison Merrilees / JUD. / (916) 319-2334

 CONSENT  

Bill No: SB 949

Author: Blakespear (D)

Amended: 3/5/24

Vote: 21

SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: 11-0, 4/2/24

AYES: Umberg, Wilk, Allen, Ashby, Caballero, Durazo, Laird, Min, Niello, Stern, Wahab

SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8

SUBJECT: Superior court: lactation accommodation

SOURCE: Author

DIGEST:

This bill requires a superior court, beginning July 1, 2026, to provide a court user with a reasonable amount of break time during a court proceeding to express breast milk, as specified; requires the Judicial Council to create rules or forms necessary to implement this requirement; and clarifies the statute allowing the superior court to designate a lactation room without certain features, as specified.

ANALYSIS:

Existing law:

1. Requires every employer to provide a reasonable amount of break time to accommodate an employee desiring to express breast milk for the employee’s infant child each time the employee has need to express milk. The break time shall, if possible, run concurrently with any break time already provided to the employee; if it does not run concurrently as specified, the break time may be unpaid. (Lab. Code, § 1030.)
2. Requires an employer to provide an employee with the use of a room or other location (room) for the employee to express milk in private, which must satisfy the following conditions:
   1. The room may include the place where the employee normally works, provided that it meets the requirements of b)-x);
   2. The room may not be a bathroom;
   3. The room must be in close proximity to the employee’s work area, shielded from view, and free from intrusion while the employee is expressing milk;
   4. The room must be safe, clean, and free of hazardous materials, as defined;
   5. The room must contain a surface to place a breast pump and personal items;
   6. The room must contain a place to sit;
   7. The room must have access to electricity or alternative devices, including, but not limited to, extension cords or charging stations, needed to operate an electric or battery-powered breast pump;
   8. There must be access to a sink with running water and a refrigerator or other equipment suitable for storing milk in close proximity to the employee’s workspace;
   9. When a multispace room is used for lactation, the use of the room for lactation must take precedence over the other uses, but only for the time it is in use for lactation purposes;
   10. An employer that employs fewer than 50 employees may be exempt from the requirement if it can demonstrate that the requirement would impose an undue hardship, as specified. (Lab. Code, § 1031.)
3. Requires, beginning July 1, 2026, a superior court to provide any court user access to a lactation room in any courthouse in which a lactation room is also provided to court employees in compliance with 2);
   1. The lactation room for court users shall be located within the court facility in an area that is accessible to the public or reasonably accessible to the public using the court facility;
   2. The lactation room shall meet all of the requirements of 2). (Gov. Code, § 69894 (operative July 1, 2026).)
4. Permits a superior court to comply with 3) without providing access to a sink with running water and a refrigerator or other cooling device suitable for storing milk if due to operational, financial, or space limitations [sic].^[1] In such a case, the lactation room shall not be a bathroom, shall be shielded from view and free from intrusion while it is being used by a court user to express milk, and shall otherwise be compliant with 2). (Gov. Code, § 69894(b).)

Existing Rules of Court:

Permit a parent who is breastfeeding a child to request that jury service be deferred for up to one year, and permits the parent to renew the request as long as they are breastfeeding. If the request is made in writing, under penalty of perjury, the jury commissioner must grant it without requiring the prospective juror to appear at court. (Cal. Rules of Ct., r. 2.1006.)

This bill:

1. Corrects a drafting error in the statute requiring courts to provide lactation rooms for employees, by adding the phrase “the court is unable to comply” before “due to operational, financial, or space limitations” to the provision allowing courts to use the alternatives for compliance set forth in Labor Code section 1031.
2. Requires, beginning July 1, 2026, a superior court to provide any court user a reasonable amount of break time during a court proceeding in which the court user is participating to allow the court user to express breast milk for the individual’s infant child each time the individual has need to express breast milk.
3. Requires the Judicial Council, on or before January 1, 2026, to adopt or amend rules of court or forms to implement 2), including a confidential process for the court user to request the break time.

Comments

For parents who choose to breastfeed their children, finding a private, sanitary location to do so can be a struggle. Since 2002, California has required workplaces to make accommodations for breastfeeding employees. (AB 1025 (Frommer, Chapter 821, Statutes of. 2001).) Beginning July 1, 2026, the courts will be required to provide court users access to courthouse lactation rooms provided to court employees or to another lactation space that is shielded from view and free from intrusion while being used to express milk. Current law does not, however, provide guidance as to when the courts must give breastfeeding court users time to express milk.

This bill intends to close this gap by requiring courts to provide court users with a reasonable amount of break time during a court proceeding in which the court user is participating to allow them to express breast milk for the court user’s child. The break time must be provided every time the individual has need to express breast milk. The bill also requires the Judicial Council to adopt or amend rules of court or forms to implement this requirement, including a confidential process by which a court user may request break time to express milk. These provisions intend to ensure that breastfeeding individuals are not unfairly disadvantaged by the court system by virtue of their decision to breastfeed. Additionally, this bill corrects a drafting error in the statute that allows the superior court to designate a lactation space without running water or a refrigerator under certain conditions.

FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: No

SUPPORT: (Verified 4/22/24)

American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists District IX

California WIC Association

Consumer Attorneys of California

Judicial Council of California

One individual

OPPOSITION: (Verified 4/22/24)

None received

ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the Consumer Attorneys of California:

Existing law requires most employers, including superior courts, to provide lactating employees with a reasonable amount of break time and access to a lactation room or other appropriate space where the employee can express breastmilk in private. Lactating people called for jury duty can defer their services as long as they are breastfeeding.

However, the tens of thousands of attorneys, parties to lawsuits, witnesses, interpreters, court reporters, and others required to attend court each day are not currently entitled access to a lactation room while at court because they are not court employees. This problem is partially solved by Government Code § 69894, which requires, by July 1, 2026, any superior court with a lactation room for court employees to also provide members of the public access to a lactation room.

Unfortunately having a lactation room available does not actually guarantee a person will be able to use it. Under current law, a person must ask a judge for a break in the proceedings to use a lactation room. Not only can a public request cause people to feel discomfort, but it is also entirely up to the judge’s discretion whether to approve the request.

SB 949 solves this problem by requiring courts to grant reasonable break time during court proceedings for any lactating person. SB 949 directs the Judicial Council to adopt or amend rules of the court, including any forms, for a lactating person to confidentially request breaks. The effective date coincides with the date courts must have lactation rooms available to the public. Therefore, this bill does not require any new accommodations to be built. Instead, it simply ensures that every person can use a lactation room when necessary.

Prepared by: Allison Whitt Meredith / JUD. / (916) 651-4113

4/23/24 16:13:32

**** END ****

1. This incomplete sentence is currently in statute. This bill corrects the omission. ↑

SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE

Senator Thomas Umberg, Chair

2023-2024 Regular Session

Bill No: SB 949 (Author:Blakespear)

Version: March 5, 2024

Hearing Date: April 2, 2024

Fiscal: Yes

Urgency: No

Consultant: AWM

SUBJECT

Superior court: lactation accommodation

DIGEST

This bill requires a superior court, beginning July 1, 2026, to provide a court user with a reasonable amount of break time during a court proceeding to express breast milk, as specified; requires the Judicial Council to create rules or forms necessary to implement this requirement; and clarifies the statute allowing the superior court to designate a lactation room without certain features, as specified.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

For parents who choose to breastfeed their children, finding a private, sanitary location to do so can be a struggle. Since 2002, California has required workplaces to make accommodations for breastfeeding employees. (AB 1025 (Frommer, Ch. 821, Stats. 2001).) Beginning July 1, 2026, the courts will be required to provide court users access to courthouse lactation rooms provided to court employees or to another lactation space that is shielded from view and free from intrusion while being used to express milk. Current law does not, however, provide guidance as to when the courts must give breastfeeding court users time to express milk.

This bill is intended to close this gap by requiring courts to provide court users with a reasonable amount of break time during a court proceeding in which the court user is participating to allow them to express breast milk for the court user’s child. The break time must be provided every time the individual has need to express breast milk. The bill also requires the Judicial Council to adopt or amend rules of court or forms to implement this requirement, including a confidential process by which a court user may request break time to express milk. These provisions are intended to ensure that breastfeeding individuals are not unfairly disadvantaged by the court system by virtue of their decision to breastfeed. Additionally, this bill corrects a drafting error in the statute that allows the superior court to designate a lactation space without running water or a refrigerator under certain conditions.

This bill is sponsored by the author and is supported by the, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists District IX, the Consumer Attorneys of California, and one individual. The Committee has not received timely opposition to this bill.

PROPOSED CHANGES TO THE LAW

Existing law:

1. Requires every employer to provide a reasonable amount of break time to accommodate an employee desiring to express breast milk for the employee’s infant child each time the employee has need to express milk. The break time shall, if possible, run concurrently with any break time already provided to the employee; if it does not run concurrently as specified, the break time may be unpaid. (Lab. Code, § 1030.)
2. Requires an employer to provide an employee with the use of a room or other location (room) for the employee to express milk in private, which must satisfy the following conditions:
   1. The room may include the place where the employee normally works, provided that it meets the requirements of b)-x).
   2. The room may not be a bathroom.
   3. The room must be in close proximity to the employee’s work area, shielded from view, and free from intrusion while the employee is expressing milk.
   4. The room must be safe, clean, and free of hazardous materials, as defined.
   5. The room must contain a surface to place a breast pump and personal items.
   6. The room must contain a place to sit.
   7. The room must have access to electricity or alternative devices, including, but not limited to, extension cords or charging stations, needed to operate an electric or battery-powered breast pump.
   8. There must be access to a sink with running water and a refrigerator or other equipment suitable for storing milk in close proximity to the employee’s workspace.
   9. When a multispace room is used for lactation, the use of the room for lactation must take precedence over the other uses, but only for the time it is in use for lactation purposes.
   10. An employer that employs fewer than 50 employees may be exempt from the requirement if it can demonstrate that the requirement would impose an undue hardship, as specified. (Lab. Code, § 1031.)
3. Requires, beginning July 1, 2026, a superior court to provide any court user access to a lactation room in any courthouse in which a lactation room is also provided to court employees in compliance with 2).
   1. The lactation room for court users shall be located within the court facility in an area that is accessible to the public or reasonably accessible to the public using the court facility.
   2. The lactation room shall meet all of the requirements of 2). (Gov. Code, § 69894 (operative July 1, 2026).)
4. Permits a superior court to comply with 3) without providing access to a sink with running water and a refrigerator or other cooling device suitable for storing milk if due to operational, financial, or space limitations [sic].^[1] In such a case, the lactation room shall not be a bathroom, shall be shielded from view and free from intrusion while it is being used by a court user to express milk, and shall otherwise be compliant with 2). (Gov. Code, § 69894(b).)

Existing Rules of Court:

1. Permit a parent who is breastfeeding a child to request that jury service be deferred for up to one year, and permits the parent to renew the request as long as they are breastfeeding. If the request is made in writing, under penalty of perjury, the jury commissioner must grant it without requiring the prospective juror to appear at court. (Cal. Rules of Ct., r. 2.1006.)

This bill:

1. Corrects a drafting error in the statute requiring courts to provide lactation rooms for employees, by adding the phrase “the court is unable to comply” before “due to operational, financial, or space limitations” to the provision allowing courts to use the alternatives for compliance set forth in Labor Code section 1031.
2. Requires, beginning July 1, 2026, a superior court to provide any court user a reasonable amount of break time during a court proceeding in which the court user is participating to allow the court user to express breast milk for the individual’s infant child each time the individual has need to express breast milk.
3. Requires the Judicial Council, on or before January 1, 2026, to adopt or amend rules of court or forms to implement 2), including a confidential process for the court user to request the break time.

COMMENTS

1. Author’s comment

According to the author:

Present law requires the superior court to provide employees with the use of a lactation room and beginning July 1, 2026, to have a lactation room available to the public in any courthouse that has one for court employees. Senate Bill 949 goes a step further and requires superior courts to provide courtroom breaks for a non-employee, such as a lawyer or juror, who needs to pump breast milk.

Accommodating the needs of mothers and ensuring they can breastfeed or express milk when they need to is essential for the health and well-being of both mothers and their babies. Senate Bill 949 makes it clear that courts must fully accommodate all people who must be at court, not just court employees.

The idea for this legislation came from a District 38 resident, a breastfeeding attorney who had to request a break in court proceedings and explicitly announce she needed to leave in order to pump breast milk. She wishes she had a confidential way to privately request a break. With SB 949 in place, such breaks will be treated as routine accessibility accommodations and not as discretionary disruptions to proceedings.

2. This bill requires courts to give breastfeeding court users reasonable break time during a court proceeding to pump breast milk

Current law requires employers to provide to their breastfeeding employees (1) reasonable break time in which to express breast milk, and (2) a lactation room or other space in which to do so.^[2] These provisions protect parents who choose—or have no choice but—to go back to work while breastfeeding.

Current law also requires courts, beginning July 1, 2026, to give breastfeeding court users access to lactation spaces provided to court employees or to designate some other space for court users to express breast milk.^[3] Current law does not, however, provide any guidance for whether, and how often, courts must provide break time for court users to express milk. Given that court proceedings can go for long hours, breastfeeding court users may be put in the untenable position of having to leave in the middle of a proceeding, having to announce publicly that they need a break, or trying to suffer through the pain of needing to express milk until the court calls a break.

This bill requires, beginning July 1, 2026, a superior court to provide any court user a reasonable amount of break time in a court proceeding to express breast milk for the individual’s infant. The bill also requires the Judicial Council to adopt rules or forms to implement this break requirement, including a process by which a court user can request break time confidentially. These provisions are intended to ensure that breastfeeding court users—including litigants, attorneys, witnesses, and jurors^[4]—are not forced to choose between breastfeeding and access to justice.

Additionally, the bill corrects an omission in the statute permitting the courts to give court users access to a lactation space without a sink with running water or a refrigerator or cooling system if the court cannot provide these features due to operational, financial, or space limitations, so that the statute will read “if the court is unable to comply due to operational, financial, or space limitations.” This addition does not substantively change the purpose of the provision; it merely adds the verbiage necessary to effectuate the subdivision.

3. Arguments in support

According to the Consumer Attorneys of California:

Existing law requires most employers, including superior courts, to provide lactating employees with a reasonable amount of break time and access to a lactation room or other appropriate space where the employee can express breastmilk in private. Lactating people called for jury duty can defer their services as long as they are breastfeeding.

However, the tens of thousands of attorneys, parties to lawsuits, witnesses, interpreters, court reporters, and others required to attend court each day are not currently entitled access to a lactation room while at court because they are not court employees. This problem is partially solved by Government Code § 69894, which requires, by July 1, 2026, any superior court with a lactation room for court employees to also provide members of the public access to a lactation room.

Unfortunately having a lactation room available does not actually guarantee a person will be able to use it. Under current law, a person must ask a judge for a break in the proceedings to use a lactation room. Not only can a public request cause people to feel discomfort, but it is also entirely up to the judge’s discretion whether to approve the request.

SB 949 solves this problem by requiring courts to grant reasonable break time during court proceedings for any lactating person. SB 949 directs the Judicial Council to adopt or amend rules of the court, including any forms, for a lactating person to confidentially request breaks. The effective date coincides with the date courts must have lactation rooms available to the public. Therefore, this bill does not require any new accommodations to be built. Instead, it simply ensures that every person can use a lactation room when necessary.

SUPPORT

American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists District IX

Consumer Attorneys of California

One individual

OPPOSITION

None received

RELATED LEGISLATION

Pending Legislation: None known.

Prior Legislation:

SB 133 (Senate Committee on Budget, Ch. 34, Stats. 2023) among other things, extended the deadline for courts to provide lactation rooms for court employees until July 1, 2026.

AB 1756 (Assembly Committee on Judiciary, Ch. 200, Stats. 2022) among other things, added the requirement that superior courts, beginning July 1, 2024, provide lactation rooms for employees, as specified.

SB 142 (Wiener, Ch. 720, Stats. 2019) expanded the requirements for an employee-provided lactation room and added exemptions for certain employers.

AB 1976 (Limón, Ch. 940, Stats. 2018) required that employers accommodate employees who wish to express milk by providing a space that is not a bathroom, and allowed employers to utilize temporary lactation spaces, with certain specifications.

**************

1. This incomplete sentence is currently in statute. This bill corrects the omission. ↑

2. Lab. Code, §§ 1030, 1031. ↑

3. Gov. Code, § 69894. ↑

4. The California Rules of Court permit a parent who is breastfeeding to defer jury service for a year, and to renew the request for as long as they continue to breastfeed. (Cal. Rules of Court, rule 2.1006.) While it seems likely that most potential jurors would choose to defer service while breastfeeding, this bill would give breastfeeding individuals the option to serve on a jury and take lactation breaks as needed. ↑