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ALERT / SEPTEMBER 1, 2026
Costa Rica expands employer obligations for breastfeeding employees
4 MIN READ
Costa Rica has enacted significant reforms to its workplace breastfeeding protections, including extending the statutory breastfeeding period, expanding paid breastfeeding break entitlements, and introducing a new right to paid breast milk expression breaks. The changes took effect on 23 April 2026.
Background
Law No. 10895, Law to Protect, Promote and Support Breastfeeding (the “Law”) amends several provisions of Costa Rica's Labor Code relating to breastfeeding accommodations, break entitlements, and employer obligations. The Law also codifies breastfeeding protections for adoptive mothers who choose to induce lactation.
The Law entered into force upon publication in the Official Gazette on 23 April 2026.
Key details
Increase in minimum breastfeeding period
The Labor Code provides a breastfeeding period during which statutory breastfeeding protections apply. Previously, the minimum breastfeeding period was three months following childbirth, which could be extended by medical certification for as long as breastfeeding continued.
Under the Law, this minimum breastfeeding period has been increased to one year from the child's birth. Thereafter, the period may be extended every three months for as long as the child continues to receive breast milk, provided the employee submits medical certification from a public or private physician. The amendments also expressly recognize the following types of breastfeeding:
Direct breastfeeding.
Expressed breast milk feeding.
Mixed feeding.
Relactation (the restoration of breast milk production after breastfeeding has ceased).
New right of adoptive mothers to breastfeeding period
As a new right, adoptive mothers are now entitled to a breastfeeding period to facilitate lactation induction, subject to certification from an appropriately qualified healthcare or lactation professional indicating the period required.
Amendments to paid breastfeeding break entitlements
Previously, breastfeeding employees were entitled to one hour of paid breastfeeding time during the workday, typically taken as either 15 minutes every two hours or 30 minutes twice per day. The Law retains these two options and adds a third option, allowing the employee to arrive one hour later or leave one hour earlier.
The amendments also clarify that one hour of paid breastfeeding time during the workday applies for each breastfeeding child, to accommodate situations such as multiples.
In addition, breastfeeding employees who work overtime are now expressly entitled to a paid 15-minute breastfeeding break every three hours of overtime worked.
Introduction of paid breaks for breast milk expression
One of the most significant changes for employers is the introduction of a standalone right to paid breaks for breast milk expression.
Employers are now required to provide breastfeeding employees with a paid break of at least 25 minutes every three working hours to express breast milk. These breaks are in addition to and do not replace statutory breastfeeding breaks.
Breastfeeding spaces
The Labor Code previously stated that employers that employed at least 30 women must provide a suitable space for mothers to breastfeed their children safely. However, the Regulation on Conditions for Breastfeeding Spaces in Workplaces (the “Regulation”), which took effect on 2 July 2025, requires employers with at least one breastfeeding employee to provide breastfeeding facilities.
The Law amends the Labor Code to align with the existing Regulation. Employers with at least one breastfeeding employee must provide an appropriate and safe space in the workplace for breastfeeding, expressing breast milk, and storing expressed milk. The space must provide privacy, hygienic conditions and appropriate facilities for milk storage, and is subject to approval by the Occupational Health Council of the Ministry of Labor and Social Security. The process for obtaining approval is set out in the Regulation here (opens a new window).
Employer action: ACT
Employers should review and update existing breastfeeding accommodation policies and procedures to reflect the changes in statutory breastfeeding entitlements, particularly the extended minimum breastfeeding period, new breast milk expression break entitlement, and overtime breastfeeding breaks.
Employers should also assess whether workplace lactation facilities comply with the amended Labor Code and the Regulation, including any applicable approval requirements.
Managers and HR personnel should be trained on the new requirements to ensure scheduling practices accommodate statutory breastfeeding and milk-expression breaks.
Further Information
