Lunch, Break, and Hour Laws You Should Know

89 Responses to “Lunch, Break, and Hour Laws You Should Know”

1. Manila Mom
   June 7th, 2007

   US federal law does not require employers to provide meal breaks? Now that’s a surprise!

   I’m self-employed and work at home, and I guess I’m the worst employer. I often skip meals or eat in front of the laptop. I do unpaid overtime often till dawn. There’s no one to sue but myself, though. But I won’t have it any other way

2. Andrew Flusche
   June 7th, 2007

   Hi Manila,

   It sounds like you’ve got a great job. I’d much rather work from home than worry about nit picky labor laws. But don’t forget to pay yourself!

   Thanks for commenting,
   Andrew

3. Do you work through your lunch break? | A bit of this and a bit of that
   June 7th, 2007

   [...] post on U.S. labour laws by Andrew Flusche who’s a law student taking his bar exam really soon. It talks about some [...]

4. Great Find: Laws You Should Know - Liz Strauss at Successful Blog - Thinking, writing, business ideas . . . You’re only a stranger once.
   June 10th, 2007

   [...] Great Find: Lunch, Break, and Hour Laws You Should Know [...]

5. SpiKe
   June 11th, 2007

   It’s scary the amount of hours I did at my last job basically for free, despite apparently getting paid on an hourly basis. I could go into a big, long rant about that company and their poor policies, but this is not the place

   I think in the UK you have to get something like a 15 min break for every 4 hours of work by law (correct me if I’m wrong?). It’s interesting how this differs to the US.
   Organize IT

6. Andrew Flusche
   June 11th, 2007

   Hi Spike,

   Thanks for stopping by to comment. I’m glad you shared the UK requirement with us. It’s definitely interesting how laws differ around the world.

   You just gained a new subscriber to your site!
   Andrew

7. shaz
   June 12th, 2007

   nice blog (checking through all the nofollow blog community).

8. Shelley Rosenberg
   June 12th, 2007

   you can work full time if you’re 17 once you recieve your GED, but can you work night shift, past 11:30?

9. Andrew Flusche
   June 12th, 2007

   Hi Shelley,

   I honestly don’t know the answer to your question. I’m sure it would depend upon where you are working (what state and city). My hunch is that a 17-year-old could work pretty much any hours. But if you have a specific need to know, the best solution is to consult a local attorney.

   Thanks for commenting!
   Andrew

10. Chris
    June 14th, 2007

    I used to be an HR Lead for a major department store chain. We were told that according to law…we had to give a 15 minute break, if the associate was scheduled for four hours or more, commencing prior to the end of four hours, and a lunch break (off the clock), if the associate was scheduled for more than 5 hours, with the lunch break required to start prior to the hour five. I was even required to give verbal/written reprimands for violations and explain that an audit could result in a monetary fine for the offending store, on a per violation basis.

    I now work for another chain store and the requirements are totally different. A 15 minute break is still given if scheduled for 4 hours, but you have to work more than 6 hours to qualify for a lunch break.

    Is the difference in policy due to following break laws of different States? Everything I have read says there is no Federal Law governing Lunch breaks, so could one chain be following California Law and the other chain be following Pennsylvania Law? The major chain is a international chain, my current employer is a NE US/Midwest US Chain.

11. Andrew Flusche
    June 14th, 2007

    Hi Chris,

    My conjecture is that your former employer had a more strict policy than the state law required. Since you said it is a national chain, I’ll bet they adopted a lunch policy that meets the requirements for all states in which they operate. That way the company can be uniform, it’s easier to administer, etc.

    In essence, I think you’re right that the companies are following different state laws. But as long as they’re both meeting the minimums in the states where they operate, they’re doing fine.

    Thanks a ton for your great comment,
    Andrew

12. bill
    June 17th, 2007

    just curious, i am a salaried employee. i was require to work 43 days straight without a day off. then again i was required to work 46 days with out a day off. i have taken some days off as “comp” time. my questions are, by law can they do this? are there any limits as to how long they can make you work, without time off, as a salaried employee? at what point is it considered abuse?

13. Andrew Flusche
    June 18th, 2007

    Hi Bill,

    This is a pretty detailed, fact-specific question. Honestly, it would be best for you to consult a local attorney if this is an ongoing problem. Many attorneys will talk to you for a few minutes for free, to help assess your case.

    With that said, I don’t know of specific laws that require days off for salaried employees. Although I might make that a future post. In the meantime, consider talking with someone in your company, such as HR or a supervisor.

    Sorry I can’t be more helpful right now.

    Thanks for your comment,
    Andrew

14. jodi
    June 26th, 2007

    andrew maybe you can assist me i am an employee in west virginia i work 40 hour weeks for a telemarketing co trying to work my way through nursing school the problem is alot of times we will go into work and maybe work for an hour and get sent home is there a certain amount of hours we
    should be getting paid for for going into work or is it legal to just pay for one hour of work ive asked my company manager and cant get a straight answer some one told me they have to compensate us for 2 hours in wv

15. Andrew Flusche
    June 26th, 2007

    Hi Jodi,

    I’ll show my ignorance now and admit that I hadn’t heard of this type of requirement before. From a quick bit of research, it looks like Canada and Australia both have minimum hour requirements for days you are scheduled to work.

    I haven’t heard of anything similar here in the United States. My best advice would be for you to contact the West Virginia Division of Labor. From their website, it looks like Sandra Cunningham from the wage & hour division would be able to help you. Her number is 304-558-7890.

    I would love to hear what you find out, and I wish you the best of luck.

    Thanks for commenting,
    Andrew

16. Chris
    June 26th, 2007

    Andrew…

    As I stated in an earlier comment, I used to be a local HR lead for a department store chain. With us, any time an associate was called into work, or scheduled to work, if they showed up, and were sent home with less than 3 hours worked, they had to receive 3 hours pay for their shift. For more than 3 worked, an associate got paid for time worked.

    It was probably similar to the lunch break situation. A national chain sets policy to meet the most stringent State Law, then all stores are in compliance with local law, no matter where the stores are located.

17. Andrew Flusche
    June 27th, 2007

    Chris,

    Thanks for adding your experience here. That’s what I love about blogs!!

18. Record Month - 12000 Visitors, $560 « Legal Andrew
    July 1st, 2007

    [...] Lunch , Break , and Hour Laws You Should Know [...]

19. Nick Kasoff
    July 5th, 2007

    These laws are a joke. Back when I had a real job (it has been a while), there were plenty of occasions where my employers had mandatory training, meetings, and other such things during lunch breaks or after work. We were never paid for our time, though they were sometimes generous enough to provide a sandwich. If anyone had objected, they would have been terminated with cause - and of course, the cause would have been something other than the objection. It sure is swell that we have those laws, though.

    Nick Kasoff
    The Thug Report

20. Sarah
    July 8th, 2007

    I manage a small coffee shop. I am currently writing a policies and procedures manual for the store. I would like to have an updated break policy but all of the information I find seems to contradict something else. I am curious about the requirements I have to meet to be in accordance with state law. Quite a bit of my employees work a simple four hour shift. Generally starting at 7:00am and ending at 11:00am. Am I required to give them any sort of a break during that four hours either paid or unpaid? Also what is the policy for a seven hour work day? I feel that a break should be provided, but the powers that be (The owners) beg to differ. Can you help me out?

21. Sarah
    July 8th, 2007

    P. S. Andrew, I live in Illinois. And I love how user friendly this site is.

22. Andrew Flusche
    July 15th, 2007

    Sarah,

    My apologies for such a delayed response. I hope this still helps you out. Studying for the bar exam is a real drag!

    Since I’m not an attorney yet, I cannot comment too much on the specifics of your question. I apologize for that, but I don’t want to break any ethical duties before I even take the bar exam.

    With that said, there’s a handy page from the Illinois DOL that will answer these questions. This gets to the heart of it:

    An employee who is to work 7 1/2 continuous hours or more shall be provided an unpaid meal period of at least 20 minutes. The meal period must be given to an employee no later than 5 hours after beginning work. Illinois has no law regarding breaks.

    For more detailed information, you should contact the Illinois DOL itself, or you could consult an attorney licensed in Illinois.

    I’m glad you like the site, and I wish you the best of luck with your policy manual. It’s great to make sure things are formalized to help clear up misunderstandings.

    Thanks for commenting,
    Andrew

23. rachellewilson
    August 8th, 2007

    my husband (in the state of texas) works 53 hours a week but gets no overtime pay because its his normal schedual. he gets a one hour lunch but no breaks not even two minutes even though he is out in the heat. is this legal?

24. Andrew Flusche
    August 8th, 2007

    Rachell - I can’t really give you specific advice on this situation. The best thing to do is contact the Texas Workforce Commission. Generally, for a non-salary employee, overtime should be paid for any hours over 40 per week.

25. Lloyd
    August 9th, 2007

    I am an hourly employee in Florida. I work in a deadline sensitive job, that means my employers make us work anywhere from three hours straight to ten hours straight without a break. Is this legal even though Florida doesn’t have a break law?

26. Andrew Flusche
    August 9th, 2007

    Lloyd - I’m not aware of any laws that set a maximum work day length. These types of laws exist for youth and certain occupations (ex: truck drivers), but typically they don’t apply to jobs at large.

    Your best course of action is to call a labor attorney in your area.

27. derrick mccrae
    August 16th, 2007

    we work 8-12 hours and no breaks

28. Ginger
    August 25th, 2007

    I live in West Virginia and I work 10-12 hour days. My employer only gives me a half hour unpaid lunch break and sometimes he has us to cut our lunch short. When he has us take a 10-15 lunch break, we do not get paid for it. I thought that in WV, for every 8 hours of work you had to be given 2 15 minute paid breaks and a half hour lunch. It was also to my understanding that if you took a lunch break that was under 20 minutes, you were supossed to get paid for it. I’m not sure of my state laws and I cannot find any information on the internet. Can you please help me find the answer? Thanks a lot.

29. West Virginia Lunch and Break Laws « Legal Andrew
    August 25th, 2007

    [...] subscribe to my RSS feed.Or, you can get free email updates.Thanks for visiting!Over at our main lunch, break, and hour law post, a reader just posted a great question. I decided that it deserved a full answer in a separate [...]

30. Andrew Flusche
    August 25th, 2007

    Hi Ginger,

    Thanks for your comment. I decided to write an educational post on West Virginia lunch and break laws. You can check it out here: West Virginia Lunch and Break Laws.

31. Derek
    August 27th, 2007

    My daughter just started preschool, and I asked my manager if I could take my lunch hour break at 1:45 one or two days out of the week instead of my usual 12:00, so I can go pick her up and drop her off with her Grandmother. My manager said “Probably not a good idea since you would be gone in the middle of the afternoon”. Is there a law as to a time period that a lunch break needs to be taken?

32. Andrew Flusche
    August 27th, 2007

    Derek - This might surprise you, but many states don’t even require lunch breaks at all. I don’t believe Florida has mandatory lunch breaks. That leads me to your question. I don’t think there’s any law that would apply here. Your employer most likely has discretion about when you take lunch.

    With that said, it’s surprising that your manager won’t let you take lunch a bit later to pick up your daughter. Have you considered a more formal request? Perhaps you could take the issue to a higher person in the company.

    Thanks for the question. Sorry I couldn’t be more helpful.

33. Derek
    August 28th, 2007

    And you know what the clincher is…….. this is coming from a lady who works a reduced schedule (9-3) so she can pick her daughter up. Is that justifiable?

34. Derek
    August 28th, 2007

    So she can pick her daughter her up from school…..

35. Andrew Flusche
    August 28th, 2007

    Derek - Your manager sounds a bit hypocritical on that point. But it’s not against the law to be a hypocrite. If it was, we’d all be in trouble.

36. Ms. Felix
    September 5th, 2007

    I’ve got a question about the length of a work shift. My mom works for a company in Texas that sometimes keeps her there for 14 hours at a stretch, without meal breaks (no meals is legal in TX, no big surprise). I can’t find information about the legal length of a shift. It seems over-the-top to require staff to remain on the job for 14 hours with just a couple of coffee/cigarette breaks.
    Thanks for whatever you can let me know. (pls email me when there’s a response–I forgot to check the box.)

37. Andrew Flusche
    September 6th, 2007

    Ms. Felix - To my knowledge, there aren’t usually laws that regulate the length of shifts for adults. Some specific industries have regulations, such as truckers - maximum hours on the road. And there are usually laws that regulate the hours of adolescents.

    I’m sorry I couldn’t be more help,
    Andrew

38. Month in Review - September « Legal Andrew
    October 1st, 2007

    [...] The top post for September (actually, since I published it) is Lunch, Break, and Hour Laws You Should Know. It’s definitely a popular post, as are my other posts on labor [...]

39. Sam
    October 3rd, 2007

    I have a few questions regarding your post. A little bit of situational history is required to set up the questions, bear with me here; I am a consultant (filing as a 1099) for a consulting company based in Connecticut, I’m currently on a project that requires me to be overseas in the UK, Netherlands, and Scotland. We are on a four-week on one-week off rotation (i.e., four weeks overseas and then one week home, weekends off while overseas). While here we work 50hrs a week for the four weeks, no overtime. Then fly home (company paid for/reimbursed) for our week off. While on our week off we get paid 40hrs for it, taken from our four 50hr work weeks (10 extra hrs. per week x 4 = 40hrs). Additionally we do not receive a paid lunch period or break period for our 10hr day. My question are as follows:

    1.Since I am working overseas for an American based company am I entitled to American labor laws?

    2.Am I entitled to receive overtime for those 10hrs extra each week?

    3.Since the company is incorporated in Connecticut am I entitled to the “½ hour after first 2 hours and before last 2 hours for employees who work 7½ consecutive hours or more.� As shown on the U.S. Department of Labor website?

    Thank You,
    Sam

40. Patty
    October 8th, 2007

    I am appalled at all the people who responded to this particular question? How can we say that we live and work in the land of the free when we can’t even get treated decently at our place of work. I work for a government agency and I belong to the AFGE union, we have a 15 minute break, non-payed, for every 4 hours we work. The only shift longer than 7.5 hours not entitled to a 30 minute lunch, is the night shift, and they still get their 2-15 minute breaks…Why would you work for a place where they can’t treat you better? I would never work longer that 8 hours without a “real” lunch. Your body is not made to handle such lengths of time without some kind of real food and time to rejuvenate. It can’t possibly be healthy. FOR ANYONE! Sorry to be so long winded.

41. Andrew Flusche
    October 9th, 2007

    Patty,

    Work breaks are obviously a sensitive and important issue for a lot of people. You’re right that we all deserve real lunch breaks during a full day’s work.

    Thanks a ton for your comment!
    Andrew

42. Michael
    October 20th, 2007

    As an employment attorney in Massachusetts, I found this article to be very informative and one that is full of information that I reguarly inform my clients. The fact that Massachusetts is an employee friendly state, creates many issues where employees have so many rights that they simply are not aware exist. For example, many people do not know about the Massachusetts Wage an Hour law, where if you are not paid all of your hourly wages upon termination, you are entitled to up to 3 times what was owed to you. I look forward to reading many more articles in the same light.

43. Bear
    October 20th, 2007

    I recently began a job, in the state of Mississippi. While waiting for this job to start giving me hours, another employer called and practically begged me to come work at her gas station, giving me sad stories about how she can’t keep employees and I was her first choice.

    Well I agreed to help her for a little while if she could work around the schedule of my other job a few days a week.

    Turns out she posts her schedules on wednesday, when everyone else’s goes from sunday to saturday- and is usually posted on a friday. So there was no way I could get her my schedule before she started writing hers.

    She did not train me for anything, and then started saying I owed her money for things that had been shoplifted- by security guards of all people.

    This is where the legal question comes in:
    The manager called and harassed my other employer, which was what they claimed was the deciding factor in them firing me. So now with this crazy lady being my only job, and a child due any day, she fires me.

    You see- I worked night shift, 9 1/2 hours (atleast) straight with no meal break. The morning I got fired (for like the 3rd day in a row) the girl who came in after me did not come in. So I worked from 11pm, to 11am the next day, no break…. And I was not even scheduled for this night, but she would not let me leave my shift the day before until I agreed to work this night shift.

    Then, because I was oddly scheduled for 1pm, I assumed she would have someone cover my shift, since I had not slept in days, and had just worked a 12 hour shift, and only had time to go home and come straight back.

    But no, 1:15 she starts calling my home, just as I’ve fallen asleep, when I calmly try to ask her if there are any other options she simply says that I shouldn’t bother ever coming back to her store, and hangs up on me.

    Now I’ve come down with a bout of pneumonia, I have no health insurance, and no money. My 40 weeks pregnant fiance’ had to go all the way to town to pick up my check, but the woman refuses to give it over unless I come in to the store in person, meanwhile my car has completely run out of gas 3 miles from my home and I have no money, and my car payment is due.

    Surely SOMETHING is illegal here. Can anyone help me?
    (appologies for the long story, I promise I left out a great deal)

44. Michael
    October 22nd, 2007

    Bear,

    As your issue falls outside the jurisdiction to which I am familar, I am not sure if the employment laws are similar. However, if you were in Massachusetts, I might suggest a potential common law tort claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress and intentional interference with advantageous contractual/business relations. You might be well advised to seek the counsel of an employment attorney in your state.

45. Andrew Flusche
    October 22nd, 2007

    Michael - It’s great to have any employment lawyer stop by! People really do need education about their rights. So many people are simply in the dark, and they haven’t had the opportunity to learn.

    Bear - I’m going to defer to Michael’s great response here. It sounds like you have a complicated situation, and it would be best to consult with a local employment lawyer in your area. Your initial meeting might be free (find out up front), so you don’t have much to lose.

46. Lee
    October 23rd, 2007

    I work at a tire store and complete auto care in Arizona. I work from 7:15 A.M to 5:30 P.M. Mon. - Fri., Saturdays 7:15 - 4:00. Sundays off. I am sore from head to toe, tired all day no matter how many hours of sleep I get. I only get half hour, unpaid lunch break if im lucky to take one, and lucky to stop for 10 seconds for one sip of cold water in 110 plus degree temperatures, at the end of the day ending up suffering from heat exhaustion. So if by law its half hour to an hour lunch and two 10 - 15 breaks. where can i find a rest chart or break chart for Arizona via internet or in writting. I wanna know my rights as an employee in Arizona.

    Thank you for your help and time.

47. Andrew Flusche
    October 29th, 2007

    Lee,

    Sorry to say, but I don’t think Arizona requires meal or rest breaks. You can check the links above for the US Department of Labor meal and rest breaks. I don’t see Arizona listed.

    Thanks for your comment!
    Andrew

48. wendy
    November 20th, 2007

    My Boyfriends Manager Is not allowing him or offering him a lunch break, if he does not get a lunch break his manager edits his time and takes 30 minutes out for a lunch he never took, its that ok??

49. anabelle
    November 27th, 2007

    my friend works in Illinois. according to Illinois law they are legally required to get a 20 minute meal break. however, they eat at their desk and have a kitchen with no adequate space to eat and cannot go out for lunch. in addition they must work 50 hours a week and they are salaried. does my friend have any legal way to handle this situation or should they quit?

50. Michael
    November 28th, 2007

    One way to guarantee a lunch break if it is medically required is to make a reasonable accommodation request pursuant to title VII of the Federal Civil Rights Act. If you need such an accommodation to perform the essential functions of your job.

51. patrick
    December 10th, 2007

    i smoke cigarettes, and where i work it’s usually a 7 hour shift. My bosses tell me that there is no such thing as a smoking break where i work. isn’t that against the law???

52. AboutToBolt
    December 11th, 2007

    Hi there!
    I have a question about those of us who are classified as “exempt”…..basically it means we receive the same salary if we work 40 hours a week that we do if we work more. No overtime pay for us.

    My question is, that often times these jobs require being “on-call”. Now during the job interview they may have said 1 week per month, when in actuality its at least 2 weeks per month of pager carrying 24×7—(where we cannot leave our homes because we must respond via phone and internet within 5 minutes!!)
    This horrible ball and chain referred to as on-call plus regularly putting in long days during the “normal” shift has us working 55 to 70 hours per week, EVERY week—its just expected.
    I wont even bother to say that most days we dont get breaks let alone lunch (unless you count scarfing some fast food down over the laptop as lunch).

    I know they wont pay us overtime due to our exempt status—but are there any laws that say how many hours overtime they can force us to work ?
    Thanks for any info you might have. Hell I feel better having just typed all that out—insane isnt it?

    ~AboutToBolt

53. SOB Business Cafe 12-14-07 - Liz Strauss at Successful Blog - Thinking, writing, business ideas . . . You are only a stranger once.
    December 14th, 2007

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54. Andrew Flusche
    December 15th, 2007

    Patrick - Check out the body of the post above. No state has mandatory “smoking breaks,” but some do require lunch breaks or other short breaks during a shift. Without more info, there’s no way to answer the question specific to your job.

    AboutToBolt - I don’t know of specific limitations on hours worked for exempt employees. If you work for the government, you might get mandatory compensatory time. But I don’t think private employers have this obligation.

    If either of you need actual legal advice, be sure to consult an attorney licensed in your jurisdiction.

55. Misty
    December 17th, 2007

    Hi Andrew,
    I heard that in the state of West Virginia, if you work more than 30 some hours a week for like a month, then your employer is required by law to hire you on as full-time. Is this true?? I looked for the law on it, but they have so much stuff to look through and I don’t have the time to read it all. I’m currently hired on as a “sub”, yet I work more than some of the full-time emplyee’s. Also, can my employer get in trouble for allowing some of the emplyee’s certain privilages and not others?? To me that would be considered unfair, and discrimination considering that they’re breaking their own rules just do this.
    Any information you can give would be greatly appreciated.
    Thank,
    Misty

56. Andrew Flusche
    December 18th, 2007

    Misty,

    Unfortunately, the issues you describe probably aren’t illegal. But I’m not licensed to practice in West Virginia.

    With that said, if your employer is simply favoring some employees over others, there’s not much (if anything) you can do legally. But if you are being harassed or otherwise forced to be in poor working conditions, you can probably seek legal redress.

    Thanks for commenting,
    Andrew

57. Kelly
    December 28th, 2007

    By law,in California, is it ok to take your 30 mins lunch break and the 10 mins coffee break together?(meaning you take one 40 mins break a day.) Is it not ok to do so?
    If my employer tells me that I am not allow to combin those breaks together, is it legal?

58. Andrew Flusche
    December 28th, 2007

    Kelly,

    Based on the federal Department of Labor charts that I link to above, I don’t think employers in California have to allow this.

    Say you work an 7 hour shift. You’d be entitled to a 30-minute lunch break after the 5th hour. And you get a 10-minute break for each 4 hour shift. But California doesn’t specify that you can take the breaks together. In fact, the 10-minute break has to be close to the middle of each 4 hour shift. So your employer might not actually be able to let you combine the breaks.

    I hope this is helpful.

    Andrew

59. Will Sellers
    January 15th, 2008

    Hi, I have a question I hope you can shed some light on. I work for a big oceanographic institution on the east coast and spend up to 5 months a year at sea supporting science. we have a very hectic schedule out there and sometimes sleep is at a premium and many times I have gone more than 24 hours without sleep and my employer expects this. I do not know what regulations regarding rest periods apply here as we are in international waters and I am not a member of the ships crew and may not be subject to Coast Guard regulations. Would my state regulations apply? (Mass.)
    I hope you can help. Thanks Will

60. Ben
    January 22nd, 2008

    Hi
    I have a question, Large company with technicians working in every state in the country. Good Company to work for, but now has mandated a Manditory lunch period of 30 minutes that is unpaid. As technicians we argue that we cannot always take a lunch period, and opt to not or to be done a half hour earlier in the day as our standard day went from 8 hrs to 8.5 to cover this time.
    They claim it’s a federal requirement…….out of their control…… what do you think???

61. Andrew Flusche
    January 23rd, 2008

    Will - That’s definitely a question that is out of my league. It would be best to contact a lawyer in your jurisdiction, or post your question on a site like LawGuru.com.

    Ben - There is no mandated federal lunch break. But if your employer provides (or requires) a lunch break, it doesn’t have to be paid. I would guess that your employer has created this policy to meet varying state laws. They’re going with the most restrictive requirement, so they will be in compliance in every state.

62. Loree
    January 24th, 2008

    Perhaps you can help me….. I am a manager at a retail clothing store. Most of the part-time/seasonal employees we hire are high school or college students. Upon being interviewed, they are informed that we DO NOT guarantee any specific amount of hours per week, especailly once the peak season is over. Because the holidays are over, most of our part itme employees have not been scheduled to work over the past month. I had the parents of one employee threaten to report me to the Texas Workforce Commission because not giving their daughter hours is against the law. I have looked everywhere for information on the matter, but can not find any that supports their claim. Is this true?

63. Leta
    January 30th, 2008

    Is it wrong to work 40 hours when you are classifed as part time and not recieving full benefits?

64. Tonya
    January 30th, 2008

    Well, let me ask you this: I work for a company where sometimes I am the only one there. I live and work in Alabama which doesn’t require meal breaks. Some days I may have worked 6 hours 15 minutes. My employer went in and adjusted my time card, reflecting that I took a half hour lunch break. Which I could not have possibly done, since I was the only worker and we are not allowed to close the store. If there are two people there, it is possible to clock out and go to lunch. At times, I have worked 12 hours straight, due to being short staffed. Still, the only one there and not allowed to close. Isn’t this time card fraud?

65. Leigh
    January 30th, 2008

    Yes.where i work we get two 15 min breaks and 30 min break.Now they are trying to say on our 30 min lunch break we can not leave the facility. I live in the state of florida I work in a nursing facility.I feel like my 30 min is my personal time as long as i’m not going over it .And as long as I clock out can they confine us to the building like that .we dont have our own personal break room so even on our lunch breaks we are still looking at patients.

66. Andrew Flusche
    February 2nd, 2008

    Loree - I’ve never heard of any law like that. If you didn’t guarantee hours to the employees, I don’t see how you could be in trouble. But I would urge you to contact a lawyer licensed in Texas for help. Or call the Workforce Commission and see what they tell you.

67. Andrew Flusche
    February 2nd, 2008

    Tonya - Employers shouldn’t be altering time cards at all, as long as the employees are accurately reporting their time. You should consider contacting a local attorney or even calling your state’s wage and hour department.

68. Andrew Flusche
    February 2nd, 2008

    Leigh - I’m honestly not sure if your employer has to let you leave the premises during lunch. You might try contacting an attorney licensed in Florida. He might could give you a quick answer, possibly even over the phone.

69. MasterCPU
    February 4th, 2008

    Hi Andrew,
    First, I find your site very informative and I check back periodically to see if anything has changed.

    Anyway, I work in IT in Pennsylvania and all of us technicians were switched from Salary Employees to Hourly Employees, which can have its advantages. One complaint I have that is being forced now is no over-time. So okay fine no over-time but, now they have just recently demanded that we take an hour lunch break without pay (which was originally a mandatory 30 minutes lunch break without pay). Now without pay is not a surprise, but I honestly do not need an hour for lunch. To me 15 – 20 minutes is plenty because I eat at my desk anyway and keep working during that time. My question is, do I have to just conform and take an hour lunch and have to stay at work for 9 hours or do I have some right to stand up and refuse?

    Thank for you for time!
    Oh, did you pass your Bar Exam?

70. Andrew Flusche
    February 4th, 2008

    MasterCPU -

    The best solution would be to politely ask your supervisors. They might be flexible on the requirement, if asked in the right way.

    But since you work in IT, they might be enforcing an hour lunch break to ensure that technicians are available all day when other employees are on site. And I don’t know what legal grounds you could use to get them to waive the requirement.

    I’m sorry that I can’t be more helpful on this issue. People ask similar questions a lot. Maybe I should do some research….

    You could also try contacting a local employment attorney. You never know what tricks they might have up their sleeves.

    By the way, I did pass the bar exam!

71. Donna
    February 4th, 2008

    Hi-
    I don’t have much time here, so I will make it quick– it si illegal for a company to schedule you so that there is no way you can get 8 hours of sleep at night. Example: I work at a department store, so my hours are never stable; we get our schedule about 2 weeks in advance most of the time. They often schedule me so that I am closing one night (10:30pm) and opening the next morning (6am). There is no way to get ready and drive to work AND get 8 hours of rest. Is this illegal, and what can I do if it is?

    Thank you!

72. Andrew Flusche
    February 6th, 2008

    Donna - The best advice here is to contact a local employment attorney. Unfortunately, I don’t think there are any laws to prevent this. My mother-in-law is a department store manager, and I know she has a similar schedule too often.

73. Janet
    February 16th, 2008

    My question is this. My mother works for a hospital in PA. they are changing her hours to 8.5 hours a day, five days a week. She is geting 1/2 hour for lunch UNPAID. Does she have to take that lunch? Can they force her to use that as unpaid time. Or can she work through lunch and either leave 1/2 hour early from work (since she’s not being paid for the 1/2 hour, why be there), or work through her lunch and get 2.5 hours overtime a week?

74. Andrew Flusche
    March 1st, 2008

    Janet - Employers generally get to set schedules for their employees. Lunch breaks are almost always unpaid. There’s really nothing out of the ordinary here. Your mother might could ask the employer to accommodate her wishes; it never hurts to ask.

75. rufusond2006
    March 2nd, 2008

    Is there a law stating that if you are full time employeed you have to be scheduled a certain amount of hours a week. My employer hired me full time and has dropped me to 25 hours per week. I live in New Mexico.

76. John
    March 8th, 2008

    If an employee is not scheduled to work, but shows up to work, do we still have to pay them? They never entered the restaurant, and did not perform any work related duties. I just had a parent tell me that I am required to pay them for 4 hours if they are sent home early, so thats why im asking. By the way im in M.A., and I’ve searched everywhere online to find an answer for this.

77. laura
    March 19th, 2008

    IN response to the above posters who are asking about guranteed hours or guranteed wages for minors:

    In some states. you arerequired to pay minors for hours not worked - *if they were scheduled*. In Colorado or Oregon, can’t remember which now, if you scheduled an employee under 18 for 8 hours, for example, you had to pay them for 4 hours, even if you sent them home because of slow business, etc. (Obviously, if I needed to “cut” employees because it was slow, I would therefore try to “cut” employess other than those who were under 18, or those only after they had worked half their scheduled shift).

    However, If an employee just showed up but was not / had never been scheduled, we would not have been required to pay them. My only question here would be, was the employee scheduled, then cut but not informed of it? Otherwise, this sounds ridiculous to me - it seems unlikely that paying someone for “mistakenly” showing up would be required anywhere, but the M.A. labor dept. can clarify that for you. Perhaps this is where the parents are confused?

    As to being obliged to *schedule* the minor a certain # of hours (Texas?) - I can’t imagine that any hourly employee is legally entitled a guaranteed number of hours, unless the employer has signed a contract guaranteeing the hours. Seasonal employment is seasonal employment. Employers cut hours, even with regular employees, if business is slow and they want to cut labor costs. It is certainly ethical and good business practice to give employees the number of hours you told them they were being hired for, or as close to it as you can, but if you are unable to do so, to let them know so that they can adjust / exercise their options: take an additional part-time job, or quit and work elsewhere. But legal obligation? I doubt it (legal standards are often lower than ethical standards, IMO).

    Anyway, for any of these questions, if the state’s printed material does not explain it clearly (and every state will have this available on the web these days), you can call the state labor dept. to clarify. If questions remain, a labor attorney would be the next step.

78. Andrew Flusche
    March 19th, 2008

    laura -

    Your comment is simply amazing!! I really appreciate this awesome contribution to the conversation for this post.

    And thank you for encouraging people to call their state’s labor department. That is a great resource people should utilize more often.

    Please comment any time.

    Andrew

79. john reed
    March 24th, 2008

    i was wondering if your employer requires that you stat at the job site does he have to pay us for our lunch since we can’t leave? and also he requires us to punch out of work then come into the office to tell him about our jobs for the day do we have to do that without pay?

80. laura
    March 25th, 2008

    For John Reed,

    I recently called my state’s Department of Labor on the first part of your question, and they confirmed my understanding that if you’re “not allowed to leave the premises for the full (length of time of your break), that’s not considered a break and they should compensate you”. I was told that if you’re required to stay on the premises, it’s “not legal” to make you punch out. It may differ in your state so you should doublecheck.

    As for the second part, if it’s a requirement and you’re doing it regularly and it’s to discuss business, you should be paid. Period.

81. Jon
    March 25th, 2008

    Hello, I would like to know what are the laws governing employers on so-called Brown Bag or Learn-over Lunch programs, ie. if they strongly suggest or mandate people attend learning sessions over luch periods. Especially related to salaried employees, and salaried state employees (VA), who normally work a 9 hour period with 1 hour lunch normally given. Can such employers mandate people must attend that 1 hour over lunch which technically they are not being paid for when one looks at the paystub. And BTW such lunch sessions are not directly related to the attendees jobs, only informational.

82. South city Gal
    March 25th, 2008

    My job is in a hospital pharmacy and is often busy we are required to have coffee breaks of about 15 minutes within our 4 working hours most often and majority of my cowerkers do not use this 15 minutes break because there is no one to cover their job for 15 minutes and dont have the heart to leave our work area and hope that our patients in the hospital can wait 15 minutes to get their medications or IV’s specially if it is a STAT order.
    Now my question is : If my shift is from 7am till 3:30 pm and at 3:15 pm, I get the chance to get a 15 minute break in which at 3:30 I will be going home can I just go straight home/clock out at 3:15pm ?
    pls. advice …….

    Thank you
    South city gal

83. Andrew Flusche
    March 27th, 2008

    Jon - Virginia is a “right to work” state. In short, that means employers can get away with a lot, but also that employees can go find another job. Even though work shifts are normally 9 hours with 1 hour free for lunch, salaried employees could be made to stay for a lunch meeting. It’s definitely not uncommon. There could be a separate requirement for Commonwealth of Virginia employees, but that’s not something I’m familiar with.

    South City Gal - This is really a question for your employer. Most likely, you can’t just go home early. As the main post here explains, some states do require mandatory breaks. If your state does, your employer must let you take a break. Otherwise, it’s up to the employer. They certainly wouldn’t want everyone clocking out at 3:15, since that would leave a 15-minute hole with no employees.

84. ben Cassidy
    March 30th, 2008

    What about going home early. Like if your scheduled to work so many hours they cant make you leave.

85. Marty
    April 6th, 2008

    Your site is just unreal for the info you give out to all of us.. I live in Calif and going to manage a snack bar and new at this. But have alot of restaurant experience also, for i was a Cook & Waitress. & Mgr. Trying to cut labor cost also. Labor Law in CA the employer can do ( 3 ) hour shifts for employees. I never knew this and are valuable at the peak time of course. I will give them a free meal since they shall be working hard .Working in the food industry from my pas experience can be very hard on everyone and i went to be a good employer and my ( 4 ) hour shifts shall be 15 minutes, not 10 minutes. That is what i always got also. I beleive what you give to Employees you get back in return in the long run.I am very happy to say I live in CA when it comes to the Labor Law Hours and Pay after reading your site from other states . Our minimun wage is $8.00 an hour and after that for over time of 40 hours is time and a half i beleive. I can never complain about our Labor Laws again we have it made. Hope to hear back from you about this information i have given you. If i am worng please correct me. Keep up the great Info to other employees in other states.They need it.

86. Andrew Flusche
    April 6th, 2008

    Marty - Best of luck with your snack bar. I can’t give you legal advice, so if you have particular questions about California’s labor laws, I encourage you to hire a local employment attorney. You can also try calling your state’s labor department. Thanks for the comment!

87. Ken
    April 7th, 2008

    hi

    i have a question i been being sent home about a hour early then my scheduled time everyday i live in the state of hawaii is it a requirement that i take a lunch break when i am being sent home 1 hour early?

    thanks
    ken

88. Joseph
    April 7th, 2008

    im 18 and work for a grocery store in PA and i work 6 hours aday and only get 15 min breaks.. is that wrong?

89. Helen Eaton
    April 22nd, 2008 (3 weeks ago)

    I need to know what the labor law on breaks and lunch break times for the state of Alabama.

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