40 USC § 3318 - Lactation room in public buildings

---
identifier: "/us/usc/t40/s3318"
source: "usc"
legal_status: "official_legal_evidence"
title: "40 USC § 3318 - Lactation room in public buildings"
title_number: 40
title_name: "PUBLIC BUILDINGS, PROPERTY, AND WORKS"
section_number: "3318"
section_name: "Lactation room in public buildings"
chapter_number: 33
chapter_name: "ACQUISITION, CONSTRUCTION, AND ALTERATION"
part_number: "A"
part_name: "GENERAL"
positive_law: true
currency: "119-84"
last_updated: "2026-04-17"
format_version: "1.1.0"
generator: "[email protected]"
source_credit: "(Added Pub. L. 116–30, § 2(a), July 25, 2019, 133 Stat. 1032.)"
---


# § 3318.1 Lactation room in public buildings

Another section 3318 is set out after this section.

**(a)** **Definitions.—** In this section:

**(1)** **Appropriate authority.—** The term “appropriate authority” means the head of a Federal agency, the Architect of the Capitol, or other official authority responsible for the operation of a public building.

**(2)** **Covered public building.—** The term “covered public building” means a public building (as defined in section 3301) that is open to the public and contains a public restroom, and includes a building listed in section 6301 or 5101.

**(3)** **Lactation room.—** The term “lactation room” means a hygienic place, other than a bathroom, that—

**(A)** is shielded from view;

**(B)** is free from intrusion; and

**(C)** contains a chair, a working surface, and, if the public building is otherwise supplied with electricity, an electrical outlet.

**(b)** **Lactation Room Required.—** Except as provided in subsection (c), the appropriate authority of a covered public building shall ensure that the building contains a lactation room that is made available for use by members of the public to express breast milk.

**(c)** **Exceptions.—** A covered public building may be excluded from the requirement in subsection (b) at the discretion of the appropriate authority if—

**(1)** the public building—

**(A)** does not contain a lactation room for employees who work in the building; and

**(B)** does not have a room that could be repurposed as a lactation room or a space that could be made private using portable materials, at a reasonable cost; or

**(2)** new construction would be required to create a lactation room in the public building and the cost of such construction is unfeasible.

**(d)** **No Unauthorized Entry.—** Nothing in this section shall be construed to authorize an individual to enter a public building or portion thereof that the individual is not otherwise authorized to enter.

---

**Source Credit**: (Added Pub. L. 116–30, § 2(a), July 25, 2019, 133 Stat. 1032.)

## Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

### Effective Date

> “The amendments made by this section [enacting this section] shall take effect 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act [
> 
> ].”

, , , provided that: