In a year that has been riddled with disappointments and losses, South Carolina women saw at least one big win this summer. In June, the General Assembly voted unanimously to promote public health and support its female workforce with the passage of the South Carolina Lactation Support Act.
The South Carolina Lactation Support Act – or H.3200 – requires employers to provide reasonable break time for employees to express breast milk in a private, safe environment. In a Senate hearing earlier this year, the bill’s sponsor Rep. Rosalyn Henderson-Myers of Spartanburg stated that its passage would be a “win-win for families” and a “win-win for employers.”
The Lactation Support Act builds upon the South Carolina Pregnancy Accommodation Act of 2018 which sought to counter pregnancy discrimination in the workplace through requiring employers to provide “reasonable accommodations” for working mothers.
The bill was considered one of the top priorities for WREN, the Women’s Rights and Empowerment Network, in the 2019 – 2020 legislative session. South Carolina regularly ranks below the national average for breastfeeding rates despite breastfeeding remaining the healthier option for infants when compared to formula feeding.
The passage of the Lactation Support Act marks a victory for working mothers across the state who no longer must risk the health of their child to appease workplace regulations. WREN cites Rep. Henderson-Myers’s determination as the driving force behind the bill’s passage even as COVID-19 threatened to derail its progress through the General Assembly.