Breaks
Kennedy
8 Posts
[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 10-09-03 AT 03:57PM (CST)[/font][p]Could someone please tell me if it is required in Texas to give employee breaks? We are having an issue with a couple of employees that say we are not giving them the breaks that are required by law when we should be. They seem to think that we are required to give them breaks after so many hours have been worked. I have looked and cannot find any information on rest breaks and lunch breaks in the State of Texas.
Comments
Update: Since responding - I researched it further & yahoo! I have an additional link:
[url]http://www.dol.gov/esa/programs/whd/state/rest.htm[/url]
ALSO MARK YOUR BOOKLET WITH HI-LITE AND TABS BECAUSE THIS QUESTION WILL HIT YOU MANY MORE TIMES IN YOUR YOUNG HR CAREER AS A PROFESSIONAL HR
PORK!
"The above has not been amended since 1938. Rest periods of short duration, running from 5 minutes to about 20 minutes, are common in industry. They promote the efficiency of the employee and are customarily paid for as working time. They must be counted as hours worked. Compensatable time of rest periods may not be offset against other working time such as compensable waiting time or on-call time." This is written to prevent employers from taking back "break periods" at the end of the day or shift.
While the regulations do not directly say you will give rest breaks, it does tell you that we should give 5 to 20 minute rest breaks, and no less than a 30 minute meal break, for which we do not have to pay. If your company can justify an action not to give a meal break in a 6 hour period of time, then, you might be right. In our company there are a few task done daily and others done every week where we do not allow the ee to stop and take a 15 minute break or a 30 minute meal break in a 6 hour period of time. The activity is so critical to the whole of the company that ones started one does not stop until the action has been completed. After which thou, the ee is allowed to take a 30 to 1 hour lunch break. We pay for the straight 6 hour period, and we do not pay for the meal period, because the ee is completely relieved of any work while eating or sleeping, his/her call. We can not make anyone eat, but we can make them rest.
PORK
Just my thoughts.
Sunny
OF COURSE, THIS IS ONLY THE FORUM AND YOU CAN DO AS YOU WANT TO DO, my words are only for your consumption and they may only cause you to throw-up.
EAT MORE PORK INSTEAD OF manager's orders & words, and you'll feel better at the end of the day!
PORK
PS. THE DOL IS A SEPERATE OFFICE TO THE WAGE AND HOUR FOLKS, THE AUDITORS. I am surprised that you have no 30 minute or longer lunch break, but then you may have convenienced someone there was a critical business reason to operate as you do without a lunch meal and your union bought it, therefore the collective bargaining contract establishes your operating rules over the common folks like us.
But I thank you for your advice - I will reread the regulations.
Sunny
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From DOL website:
When must breaks and meal periods be given?
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) does not require breaks or meal periods be given to workers. Some states may have requirements for breaks or meal periods. If you work in a state which does not require breaks or meal periods, these benefits are a matter of agreement between the employer and the employee (or the employee's representative).
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[url]www.dol.gov/elaws[/url]
[url]www.dol.gov[/url]
9 CFR 785.18 - Rest.
• Section Number: 785.18
• Section Name: Rest.
Rest periods of short duration, running from 5 minutes to about 20
minutes, are common in industry. They promote the efficiency of the
employee and are customarily paid for as working time. They must be
counted as hours worked. Compensable time of rest periods may not be
offset against other working time such as compensable waiting time or
on-call time. (Mitchell v. Greinetz, 235 F. 2d 621, 13 W.H. Cases 3
(C.A. 10, 1956); Ballard v. Consolidated Steel Corp., Ltd., 61 F. Supp.
996 (S.D. Cal. 1945))
29 CFR 785.19 - Meal.
• Section Number: 785.19
• Section Name: Meal.
(a) Bona fide meal periods. Bona fide meal periods are not worktime.
Bona
fide meal periods do not include coffee breaks or time for snacks. These
are rest periods. The employee must be completely relieved from duty for
the purposes of eating regular meals. Ordinarily 30 minutes or more is
long enough for a bona fide meal period. A shorter period may be long
enough under special conditions. The employee is not relieved if he is
required to perform any duties, whether active or inactive, while
eating. For example, an office employee who is required to eat at his
desk or a factory worker who is required to be at his machine is working
while eating. (Culkin v. Glenn L. Martin, Nebraska Co., 97 F. Supp. 661
(D. Neb. 1951), aff'd 197 F. 2d 981 (C.A. 8, 1952), cert. denied 344
U.S. 888 (1952); Thompson v. Stock & Sons, Inc., 93 F. Supp. 213 (E.D.
Mich 1950), aff'd 194 F. 2d 493 (C.A. 6, 1952); Biggs v. Joshua Hendy
Corp., 183 F. 2d 515 (C. A. 9, 1950), 187 F. 2d 447 (C.A. 9, 1951);
Walling v. Dunbar Transfer & Storage Co., 3 W.H. Cases 284; 7 Labor
Cases para. 61.565 (W.D. Tenn. 1943); Lofton v. Seneca Coal and Coke
Co., 2 W.H. Cases 669; 6 Labor Cases para. 61,271 (N.D. Okla. 1942);
aff'd 136 F. 2d 359 (C.A. 10, 1943); cert. denied 320 U.S. 772 (1943);
Mitchell v. Tampa Cigar Co., 36 Labor Cases para. 65, 198, 14 W.H. Cases
38 (S.D. Fla. 1959); Douglass v. Hurwitz Co., 145 F. Supp. 29, 13 W.H.
Cases (E.D. Pa. 1956))
(b) Where no permission to leave premises. It is not necessary that
an employee be permitted to leave the premises if he is otherwise
completely freed from duties during the meal period.
You readers out there, I'm writing to this post based on personal experience and written documents and the other poster number 14 is quoting from the words on the WEB site, both are real and useable to answer your concerns that fit your companies' needs. We simply choose to professionally express our thoughts on the issue from the different levels of experience and circumstance.
I still recommend, to stay out of trouble and to support the employee, to use the written or WEB law as your basis to insure the ee is paid for and given 15 minute breaks in the morning and in the afternoon (or evening and morning shift s as may be the case for 24 hour operations). Reason is we all need the positive social life provided in a physical break from the working task, to get away from the constant stress of the nature of work in any profession. For the breakfast/lunch/dinner or supper Meal breaks make them happen for the benefit of the ee and the good of the company. Keep management and leaders informed of the cost of abusing ees with over work and no compensation. Be up-front and honest with the ee and use the written law to keep management at bay! If we work the ee we must pay! Abuse the ee with the belief that the law does not say thou shall: and you will, like one of my past companies' did, you will pay more dearly than what you wished.
My advice, PORK
What we were told is that basically they are not required by Federal lwa to have ANY breaks. However, if breaks are given (rest or meal), they must be paid if they are under 25 minutes. Also, if a person takes a "break" longer than 30 minutes (for whatever reason) and they continue working or are called to work during this time, they should be paid as well.
I don't think this agrees totally with what Pork says, but what I was told.
(However, folks in other states be careful because this is different per state, i.e. CA, TN, etc.)
E Wart