A female employee filed a suit with a court in Shanghai seeking unpaid overtime because she did not receive one-hour breastfeeding breaks for six months during the breastfeeding period under her employment contract. The judge opined that within the first year of giving birth, a female employee is entitled to a one-hour breastfeeding break each day. If the employee fails to exercise this break, the break will be forfeit and will not count as unpaid overtime or subject to encashment. In addition, the female employee did not provide evidence showing that the employer refused to permit her to take the breastfeeding breaks. Therefore, the court rejected the female employee’s claims for overtime payment.
China