Check with your employment counsel to determine whether or not you must provide breaks. The FLSA does not mandate meal or rest breaks, but many state laws do. “These are issues where it never hurts to provide additional training.” “Some employers may believe that all employees and managers understand when breaks should be taken, how long they should last, or whether employees should be interrupted or asked to do work when on a break,” he said. As Kun explains, ensuring managers and employees understand break laws can help prevent future issues. The time between 20 and 30 minutes is a bit murky, but the least risky approach is to pay for that time.”Ĭonfusion around these laws can trickle down to employees. If it is 20 minutes or fewer, it must be paid. Generally, if a break period is 30 minutes or more, it can be unpaid. So employers should check applicable state laws. “The FLSA does not mandate that breaks or meal periods be provided, but some state laws do mandate such breaks. “The most common misconception about breaks or lunches is that they must be paid or even provided,” she said. Rotman notes that the most common misconception is that breaks are required at all. If you multiply that by the number of weeks the employee worked, you can see how the amount of underpayment a single employee might claim could be significant.”Ī lack of federal guidelines can confuse business owners, and the laws around breaks are a prime example. Now, if an employee alleges that this happened every day, would have a claim for two and half hours of unpaid work each week, some or all of which might be considered overtime if it falls beyond 40 hours. “As a result, have been underpaid for 30 minutes. Whether that’s intentional or a flaw in the employer’s time tracking system, it could lead to significant back pay. Other common problems occur when employers deduct breaks from an employee’s time card automatically or ask someone to work through their lunch breaks. “The claims we often see are that employees are not allowed to take their breaks at all, they’re allowed to take them too late, their breaks aren’t long enough to satisfy the law, or their breaks are interrupted,” Kun notes. These laws can be complicated and leave business owners struggling to comply. Some states have laws for when employees can take breaks, and the number of breaks employees can take per shift. Not paying employees for all time worked is a form of wage theft that can lead to a wage and hour dispute with workers. Draft a break policy that clarifies the types of breaks employees can take, the length of each break, and how to track breaks. Never force employees to clock out for breaks if they’re working during their break time. “One of the most common problems,” Rotman elaborates, “occurs when employers enable automatic deductions for lunch breaks without giving the employee any manner of editing that time if they happen to work through lunch.” The FLSA requires businesses to pay employees for all time worked, even when employers don’t authorize employees to work during their breaks. Employers who force their workers to clock out for breaks run the risk of a wage and hour lawsuit. The consequences for not paying employees for all time worked can be costly. If an employee works during a lunch break, business owners shouldn’t deduct hours from their timesheets automatically or force them to clock out. Employees should clock out for lunch breaks, as long as they are not working during that time.
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