Employee Break Policies
Most workers breathe a sigh of relief when they go on a much-deserved break after a long couple of hours in a boring meeting or trying to assist an angry customer. Breaks are so important to employee well-being that many states require that employers offer them.
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Break Definitions
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The Employee Issues website divides breaks into two categories: "meal" and "rest" breaks. A meal break is a time for the employee to eat breakfast, lunch or dinner during work hours. A rest break is a time for the employee to use the bathroom, grab a snack and a cup of coffee, or take a "smoke break" outside the building.
State Break Laws
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As of 2010, 25 U.S. states and territories require work breaks, even though there is no federal law requiring them, according to the Employee Issues website. Those states and territories are: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Guam, Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, New Jersey, North Dakota, Ohio, Puerto Rico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin. Seven of these states (California, Colorado, Kentucky, Minnesota, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington) specify both a rest and a meal break.
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Rest Break Policies
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The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) regulates voluntary provisions for rest and work breaks, but aren't applicable when a state law regulates them, according to the Employee Issues site. Under the FLSA, employers who give breaks less than 20 minutes long must pay for the breaks, says the Employee Issues site. If such breaks carry into overtime, eligible employees must receive overtime pay. If the employee takes a rest break without permission, however, and his supervisor told him that he will be punished for doing so, the company does not have to pay.
Meal Break Policies
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Employers must pay for meal breaks under the FLSA, unless they absolve their employees from all work responsibilities during meals and not restrict break activities, says the HR Hero website. Employees who remain at the work site, take phone calls while at lunch or meet with other personnel during a meal must receive pay for the meal break. Employees who go home for lunch still get paid if they have to answer work-related questions while they are home.
Break Policies for Special Groups
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According to the Employee Issues website, the Federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of March 2010 requires organizations to provide unpaid rest breaks for nursing mothers to feed their babies. In addition, the Americans with Disabilities Act requires companies to reasonably accommodate employees with disabilities, which includes providing extended rest breaks if necessary. If breaks are negotiated into a union contract, then the employer's non-union employees may be entitled to the same break periods as the union employees.
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References
- Photo Credit coffee break image by FotoWorx from Fotolia.com
