How to Submit a Lactation Break Request
The Office of Human Resources (OHR) provides an online lactation break request system for Montgomery County Government employees. An approved lactation break request is needed for employees to access the system's scheduling feature where they can locate available lactation rooms in County buildings
* and reserve appointments to use these spaces. (
See Montgomery County Council Bill No. 11-22 for details.) This webpage provides an overview of how to use the system. Educational materials are also available to employees and departments in the “Resources” section below.
*Note: The Department of General Services (DGS) is in the process of working with departments to both assess existing lactation spaces and to prepare additional spaces for this use. When DGS has concluded this process, one lactation space per County building will be identified and populated into OHR’s scheduling system. Please stay tuned for additional information.
To submit a lactation break request:
Before you can schedule appointments in County lactation spaces, you will need to submit a Lactation Break Request through the online system. (Note: Lactation System User Guide coming soon!)
- Click here to access the online lactation break request system. Log in with your MCG user ID and password.
- Click “New Lactation Break Request.”
- Fill out the request information, then click “Submit.”
- The request will be sent to your supervisor for review, and then to Occupational Medical Services (OMS) for final approval. If your supervisor or OMS request changes, you will receive an email notification with instructions.
- You will receive an email notifying you of OMS’s decision. Once your lactation break request is approved by OMS, follow the instructions below to view available lactation spaces and schedule appointments. If you need to contact OMS regarding your lactation break request, please email [email protected].
To schedule appointments to use lactation spaces in County buildings:
- Click on the link in the email notification that you received to begin scheduling appointments, then log in with your MCG user ID and password. Or, you can click here to access the online lactation system, and then click “Lactation Rooms.”
- You will see a list of lactation spaces that are currently available for you to reserve lactation break appointments. ( Note: Not all County buildings have identified lactation rooms in the scheduling system yet. When DGS's assessment and lactation space preparation process has concluded, one lactation space per County building will be available in the system.)
- Click the “Schedule” button for the room you would like to reserve.
- Select an available timeslot. You can schedule recurring appointments on certain days/times, or you can reserve one-time appointments.
- Click “Save” to reserve your appointment(s).
- The Point of Contact for that lactation space will receive an email notification. You will be copied on that email confirming your reservation. Please coordinate with the Point of Contact if you need assistance accessing the space (for example, if the location requires keycard access that you do not have).
- Repeat the steps above to schedule additional appointments as needed.
SUPERVISORS
When one of your employees submits a lactation break request, you will receive an email notification with instructions on how to access and review the request. Please act promptly on these requests when you receive them so that your employees’ can access this important resource. When you complete your review, you will have three options: 1) approve 2) approve with modifications 3) return to the employee for corrections. The focus of your review should be on the employee’s requested break schedule.
You cannot reject an employee’s request to use their normal break time for lactation purposes. "An employee must be provided with reasonable break time during the workday to accommodate the need for lactation. The break time must run concurrently with any lunch or normal break already provided to the employee unless an alternative schedule has been approved by the employee’s supervisor." See Bill No. 11-22 for more details.