Texas breastfeeding laws give you the right to nurse a baby or express milk anywhere you’re otherwise allowed to be, and they require public employers to give you break time and a private, non-bathroom space to pump. If you work for a private employer in Texas, your workplace protections come from federal law rather than state law.
Nursing and Pumping in Public
Texas Health and Safety Code Section 165.002 entitles a mother to breastfeed her baby or express breast milk in any location where she is otherwise authorized to be.1Justia Law. Texas Health and Safety Code Section 165.002 The statute originally covered only nursing; a 2019 amendment added the explicit right to use a pump in any authorized location.2Texas Tribune. Texas Governor Greg Abbott Signs Breast Milk Pumping Bill
One boundary worth knowing: Texas is not among the 31 states that explicitly exempt breastfeeding from public indecency statutes.3National Conference of State Legislatures. Breastfeeding State Laws Section 165.002 affirms your right to nurse or pump wherever you’re allowed to be, but Texas has no separate carve-out from indecency law like many other states have written in.
If You Work for a Public Employer
Texas Government Code Chapter 619 applies to every public employer in the state: city and county governments, state agencies, public school districts, public colleges and universities, courts, and the Texas Legislature.4Texas Law Help. Break Time for Nursing Mothers If you’re a public employee, your employer must:
- Provide reasonable break time to express milk, as often as you need it. The statute sets no cap on the number of breaks and no time limit after your child’s birth.
- Provide a private space that is shielded from view and free from intrusion, and that is not a multi-user bathroom.
- Adopt and communicate a written policy supporting the expression of breast milk.
Chapter 619 also bars retaliation against an employee for using these rights.5Texas Workforce Commission. Nursing Mothers Unlike the federal PUMP Act, which cuts off at one year after birth, Chapter 619 has no such time limit for the public employees it covers.4Texas Law Help. Break Time for Nursing Mothers
If You Work for a Private Employer
Texas has no state law requiring private employers to give nursing employees break time or a private space. Chapter 619 stops at public employers, and no parallel statute reaches the private sector.4Texas Law Help. Break Time for Nursing Mothers Your rights at a private workplace come from two federal laws.
The PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act
The PUMP Act, signed December 29, 2022, extended FLSA lactation protections to nearly all employees, including salaried and exempt workers such as managers, nurses, teachers, and agricultural workers who had previously been left out.6U.S. Department of Labor. PUMP at Work You’re entitled to reasonable break time to pump for up to one year after your child’s birth, plus a private space that is shielded from view, free from intrusion, and not a bathroom.7U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet #73 – Break Time for Nursing Mothers
The space has to be functional. It must include a place to sit and a flat surface other than the floor, and it must be reasonably close to your work area. A permanent dedicated room isn’t required; a temporary or mobile space qualifies as long as it meets the privacy and functionality standards.8U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet #73a – Nursing Mothers at Work General Guidance Employers with fewer than 50 employees may claim an exemption if compliance would be an undue hardship.9U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Time and Place to Pump at Work – Your Rights
The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act
The PWFA, effective June 27, 2023, treats lactation as a pregnancy-related condition that qualifies for reasonable workplace accommodations.10U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. What You Should Know About the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act Where the PUMP Act is limited to break time and a space, the PWFA requires your employer to engage in an interactive process with you and may cover schedule changes, adjustments to job duties, or equipment beyond the basic pumping setup.11U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Helping Patients Deal With Pregnancy-Related Limitations and Restrictions Your employer cannot demand medical documentation when the request is simply about pumping or nursing during work hours.
Traveling With Breast Milk
The Bottles and Breastfeeding Equipment Screening Enhancement Act, signed into law in 2025, requires the TSA to issue clear guidance on hygienic handling of breast milk, baby formula, and related accessories at airport security. It mandates officer training, consultation with maternal health organizations, guidance updates every five years, and an independent audit of compliance.12Office of Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar. Rep. Salazar’s Legislation to Support Parents Traveling With Breast Milk and Baby Food The rules apply uniformly at every U.S. airport, including the major Texas hubs at Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, and Austin.13Office of Senator Tammy Duckworth. Bipartisan Bill to Better Protect Parents Traveling With Breast Milk Signed Into Law
What to Do If Your Rights Are Violated
Your options depend on the law that was broken.
For a PUMP Act violation, you can file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division or bring a private lawsuit. Available remedies for violations occurring on or after April 28, 2023, include reinstatement, lost wages, liquidated damages equal to the lost wages, and in some cases compensatory and punitive damages. Retaliation for asserting these rights is itself a violation and carries the same range of remedies.7U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet #73 – Break Time for Nursing Mothers If your lawsuit is specifically about the failure to provide an appropriate space, you may need to notify your employer first and give them ten days to comply before filing. That notice step doesn’t apply to Wage and Hour Division complaints or to lawsuits about being denied break time.8U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet #73a – Nursing Mothers at Work General Guidance
If you were fired, demoted, or otherwise punished for breastfeeding or requesting accommodations, you can file a discrimination complaint with the Texas Workforce Commission. Under a dual-filing agreement, the complaint is automatically shared with the EEOC, so a separate federal filing isn’t needed. You must file within 180 days of the adverse action, your employer must have at least 15 employees, and the work location must be in Texas.14Texas Law Help. Filing a Discrimination Charge Against Your Employer You cannot sue in court until the TWC or EEOC issues a Notice of Right to Sue.15U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Filing a Complaint
The Texas Mother-Friendly Worksite Program
The state also runs a voluntary recognition program under Chapter 165 of the Health and Safety Code. Employers that adopt a written lactation policy meeting minimum standards can earn a Mother-Friendly designation from the Department of State Health Services.16Texas Department of State Health Services. Texas Mother-Friendly Worksite A qualifying policy must offer flexible scheduling and break time sufficient for two years or longer, a private non-bathroom space shielded from view (including during video calls), clean water access, hygienic storage for expressed milk, and a complaint procedure. Silver and Gold tiers recognize additional benefits like onsite childcare, hospital-grade pumping equipment, or lockable dedicated rooms.17Texas Register. Proposed Rules – Health Services
The program is voluntary. There is no penalty for private employers who decline to participate, and the designation itself does not create rights you can enforce against your employer.18Texas Department of State Health Services. Texas Mother-Friendly Worksite
Breastfeeding and Custody Orders
In custody and visitation disputes involving a child under three, Texas family courts consider the child’s physical and developmental needs, which can include breastfeeding. State guidance is clear that nursing should not be used to block the other parent’s time with the child, and courts expect parents to work around the nursing schedule cooperatively, including feeding an infant with expressed milk once routines are established.19Texas Access. Children Under Age 3 Breastfeeding is treated as a logistical factor to plan around, not a basis for restricting visitation.