Texas breastfeeding laws give every mother the right to nurse her baby or express breast milk anywhere she is otherwise allowed to be, with no requirement to cover up, move, or leave. That public-place protection is the foundation. Layered on top are workplace pumping rights under both Texas and federal law, insurance coverage for pumps, a jury duty exemption, and travel rules that treat breast milk as a medical necessity.
Breastfeeding in Public Places
Texas Health and Safety Code § 165.002 states plainly that a mother may breastfeed her child in any location she is authorized to be.1State of Texas. Texas Health and Safety Code 165.002 – Right to Breast-Feed That means restaurants, retail stores, parks, shopping centers, government offices, waiting rooms, and anywhere else open to you as a customer, visitor, or member of the public. The statute makes no distinction between nursing directly and using a pump.
There is no legal duty to use a cover, face a wall, or step into a back room. A business owner or employee who tells you to relocate to a restroom, drape yourself, or leave the premises because you are breastfeeding is asking you to give up a right the Texas Legislature specifically protected. The law does not require concealment of any kind.
Pumping at Work
Whether your pumping rights come from Texas law or federal law depends on who signs your paycheck.
If You Work for a State or Local Government Employer in Texas
Texas Government Code Chapter 619 requires every state agency, county, city, and other public employer to let nursing employees express milk at work.2State of Texas. Texas Government Code Chapter 619 – Right to Express Breast Milk in the Workplace The employer has to provide reasonable break time and a location that is not a bathroom, is shielded from view, and is free from intrusion by coworkers or the public. Chapter 619 also bars employers from firing, suspending, or otherwise discriminating against an employee for exercising these rights.3Texas DSHS. Worksite Lactation Laws
If You Work for a Private Employer
The PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act, at 29 U.S.C. § 218d, requires covered employers to provide reasonable break time each time an employee needs to pump, for one year after the child’s birth.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 29 USC 218d – Breastfeeding Accommodations in the Workplace The space must be shielded from view, free from intrusion, and not a bathroom.5U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Time and Place to Pump at Work: Your Rights It also has to be functional, which in practice means a seat, a flat surface, and an electrical outlet. A supply closet with no chair does not meet the standard. A bathroom never does, regardless of size or cleanliness. If you work remotely, your employer cannot observe you through any company-provided camera or video platform during pumping time.
Whether Pumping Breaks Are Paid
Pay depends on whether you are fully relieved of all duties. If you keep working while you pump — answering emails, monitoring a phone line, grading papers — you must be paid for that time. If you are completely off duty, the break can be unpaid. But if your employer provides paid breaks to other employees, a pumping employee who uses that same break time to express milk must be paid the same way.6U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 73 – Break Time for Nursing Mothers Under the FLSA
Small Employers
Employers with fewer than 50 employees are not required to comply if doing so would create an undue hardship given the business’s size, financial resources, and structure.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 29 USC 218d – Breastfeeding Accommodations in the Workplace The burden of proving that hardship falls on the employer. A small business cannot simply decline to provide space without documenting why compliance is infeasible.
If You Need to Pump Beyond One Year
PUMP Act protections expire one year after childbirth. The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act fills the gap. Under the PWFA, there is no fixed time limit. An employer must provide reasonable accommodations for pumping as long as the employee has an ongoing need, unless the accommodation causes undue hardship.5U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Time and Place to Pump at Work: Your Rights If you are still expressing milk 14 months after your child’s birth, the PWFA is the statute protecting you.
Insurance Coverage for Pumps and Lactation Support
Under the Affordable Care Act, most health plans must cover breastfeeding support, counseling, and equipment for the duration of breastfeeding, with no cost-sharing.7HealthCare.gov. Breastfeeding Benefits That includes a breast pump, either rental or a new one you keep. Grandfathered plans are the main exception.
Plans have discretion over the details: manual versus electric, rental length, and whether you can receive the pump before delivery or only afterward. Many follow a doctor’s recommendation on which type is medically appropriate. If an insurer denies a pump claim, ask your provider to submit a letter of medical necessity. That often resolves it.
The IRS treats breast pumps, pump supplies, and other lactation expenses as deductible medical expenses.8Internal Revenue Service. Publication 502 – Medical and Dental Expenses You can pay for them with pre-tax dollars through a Health Savings Account or Flexible Spending Account. If insurance does not cover the full pump cost, or you need replacement parts or storage bags, running those through an HSA or FSA effectively discounts them by your marginal tax rate.
Jury Duty
Texas lets a breastfeeding mother claim an exemption from jury service. In most cases you check a box on the jury summons itself or send the clerk a brief written statement that you are currently nursing. Courts generally do not require medical documentation. Your own statement is enough. The exemption is yours to claim or decline. If you want to serve, you still can.
Traveling with Breast Milk
The TSA classifies breast milk as a medically necessary liquid, which exempts it from the 3.4-ounce carry-on limit. You can bring any quantity in your carry-on, even when your baby is not with you. Ice packs, gel packs, and freezer packs used to keep milk cold are allowed, even if partially melted. Pumps and accessories are treated as medical devices and can go in your carry-on.
Separate your milk, cooling packs, and pump from the rest of your bag before the conveyor belt, and tell the officer what you are carrying. The BABES Enhancement Act, signed into law in late 2025, directs the TSA to issue updated guidance on minimizing contamination risk during screening of breast milk, formula, and related equipment, applying to both TSA officers and private screening contractors.9Congress.gov. H.R. 820 – Bottles and Breastfeeding Equipment Screening Enhancement Act
The Friendly Airports for Mothers Act requires medium and large hub airports to provide a private lactation room beyond security in every terminal, with a locking door, a seat, a flat surface, an electrical outlet, and either a sink or sanitizing equipment. It cannot be a bathroom. For federal buildings in Texas that contain a public restroom — courthouses, federal office buildings, and similar facilities — the Fairness for Breastfeeding Mothers Act requires a hygienic lactation room shielded from view, free from intrusion, and equipped with a chair, a working surface, and an electrical outlet.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 40 USC 3318 – Lactation Room in Public Buildings
What to Do If Your Rights Are Violated
At Work
Public employees covered by Chapter 619 are protected against retaliation for exercising pumping rights.3Texas DSHS. Worksite Lactation Laws Internal grievance procedures through your agency are usually the first step.
Private-sector employees covered by the PUMP Act can file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division.11U.S. Department of Labor. FLSA Protections to Pump at Work Because the PUMP Act is part of the FLSA, the enforcement mechanisms and remedies that apply to other wage-and-hour violations apply here too. Document what happened: date, time, who you spoke with, what they said, and what accommodation was denied. That record matters if a complaint or lawsuit follows.
In a Business or Public Place
If a business tells you to stop breastfeeding, move, or leave, that is a violation of Health and Safety Code § 165.002. The statute itself does not specify a fine or criminal penalty, so enforcement runs through civil action. An attorney can help you weigh whether to seek a court injunction ordering compliance or pursue damages. Strong documentation — staff names, timestamps, witnesses — gives you leverage either way.