Contact Equity and Access Office

Email:
equityandaccess​@nau.edu
Call:
928-523-3312

Visitors to Campus

If you are visiting campus and require access to a lactation space, please plan ahead and contact the EAO during regular university business hours at the phone number or email address above for temporary accommodation during your time on campus.

Lactation Rooms

The Equity and Access Office (EAO) manages the dedicated lactation rooms across campus. These spaces are not open access but require an access code to ensure their availability for nursing parents as defined under the Affordable Care Act.

Lactation Rooms and the Affordable Care Act

The Affordable Care Act (ACA: aka Obama Care) states in part:

“Employers are required to provide a reasonable amount of break time and a space to express milk as frequently as needed by the nursing mother, for up to one year following the birth of the employee’s child. The frequency of breaks needed to express breast milk as well as the duration of each break will likely vary. The space provided by the employer cannot be a bathroom, and it must be shielded from view and free from intrusion by coworkers or the public…. Employers are not required under the FLSA to compensate nursing mothers for breaks taken for the purpose of expressing milk. However, where employers already provide compensated breaks, an employee who uses that break time to express milk must be compensated in the same way that other employees are compensated for break time. In addition, the FLSA’s general requirement that the employee must be completely relieved from duty or else the time must be compensated as work time applies.”

The State of Arizona does not have any additional requirements.

How to Access the Spaces

If you need access to a lactation room when you return to campus from maternity leave, or any other time, please contact the Equity and Access Office (EAO) for assistance by phone at (928) 523-3312 or by email at EquityandAccess@nau.edu. The EAO will provide access to one of the 14 dedicated spaces NAU has across its Flagstaff Mountain campus.  If you are an employee, and if there is not a space close enough to your work site, then the EAO will work with your supervisor and building manager to find a suitable space. If you work or attend classes at NAU campuses outside of Flagstaff, then please contact the EAO for assistance with lactation rooms.

Locations

North and Central Campus Accordion Closed

Aquatic and Tennis Center (Bldg 86)

Cline Library (Bldg 28)

Honors College – Honors Living and Learning Community (Bldg 41)

International Pavilion (Bldg 50A)

Kitt Recital Hall (Bldg 37A)

Science Annex Building (Bldg 20)

Science and Health Building (Bldg 36)

Student & Academic Services (SAS) (Bldg 60)

South Campus Accordion Closed

Contracts, Purchasing, and Risk Management Building (Bldg 98B)

du Bois South Union (Bldg 64)

Facility Services (Bldg 77)

Health Professions (Bldg 66)

Coming Soon… Student Athlete High Performance Center (SAHPC) (Bldg 73A)

Women’s and Gender Studies/Applied Indigenous Studies/Ethnic Studies Suite 100, SBS West (Bldg 70)

Q&A

How do I arrange access to a lactation room? Accordion Closed

Please contact the Equity and Access Office by email at EquityandAccess@nau.edu, or by phone at (928) 523-3312.

Why are these spaces not simply open access? Accordion Closed

NAU must ensure that we meet the ACA requirements to provide these spaces to qualified employees. As a university, we do not limit their use by all employees or students, however, we must ensure they are accessible to those covered by the law, which necessitates management of the spaces.

What if there isn’t a space near my class or work location? Accordion Closed

The current lactation spaces are located across campus and, hopefully, there is an official space near your work location. If not, EAO will work with the building manager and your supervisor to identify a suitable location for you.

I am a student parent and need access to a lactation space while I’m on campus attending class or for other school-related activities, can I access a lactation room? Accordion Closed

Yes, please contact the Equity and Access Office.

I am not on the Mountain Campus, can you provide a location for me at my worksite? Accordion Closed

Yes, we will work with your supervisor and our Statewide Campus partners to locate an appropriate lactation space for you.

Does my supervisor have to know that I need access to a lactation space? Accordion Closed

We treat the need for use of a lactation space and time to express milk as a temporary accommodation. As such, we need to notify your supervisor of their responsibility to ensure you are provided the time you need to use a lactation space. Just as with any accommodation, this information is only provided to those with a need to know and is private. Notifying your supervisor protects your rights and ensures the university is compliant with the law.

What if I just need temporary access to a location due to a meeting or other obligation in another part of campus? Accordion Closed

We know that people do not simply work in their offices and in their assigned building all day. Please contact EAO for temporary access to existing lactation rooms or for assistance locating a temporary space in a building without a designated lactation room.

Resources

Federal Requirement Information

Storing Breast Milk while on Campus

Consider how you will store your pumped milk while you are on campus. Each lactation space (except Cline) has a refrigerator available for your use. For those who do not have access to a refrigerator within your campus department, an insulated cooler with ice packs is an acceptable method for keeping milk cool for use with healthy full-term infants.

Source: CDC Breastfeeding Recommendations

Arizona resources

Useful websites

Equity and Access Office
Location
Room 113 Building 10
Old Main
PO Box: 4083
Flagstaff, AZ 86011
Contact Form