When do your employees get alunch break? Did you know the federal government doesn’t have a law requiringbusiness owners to give adult employees rest periods or meal breaks during theworkday? In fact, only l9 states specifically require rest or meal breaks foradults. Interestingly, the Fair Labor Standards Act states that if employerschoose to provide employees with rest periods, they must be paid. And, if yougrant employees meal breaks, they too, must be paid, unless the breaks qualifyas bona fide meal periods.
So what constitutes a bonafide meal period? Meal periods usually last at least 30 minutes or more andqualify as an unpaid break. The U.S. Department of Labor deems a break to be abona fide meal period when it is a period of time set aside for a regular meal.The break must also be long enough to be used for this purpose, and it must bean uninterrupted period during which the employee is completely relieved fromhis/her duties. During this period, the employee cannot be actively orinactively working.
What about your officeemployees? If they are required to be at their desks during lunch, it isconsidered working while eating. The same is true if an employee is working inone of your service bays. The Department of Labor doesn’t require the employeebe allowed to leave the premises during this time, provided he or she isotherwise completely freed from all work-related issues.
What is a rest period? Restperiods are considered work time, and therefore, the employee must be paid. Thetypical length of such a period can be anywhere from five to 20 minutes andconsists of coffee breaks and time for snacks.
Rest periods may not beoffset against other working times, such as compensable waiting time or on-calltime. As their employers, you may require employees to take breaks to avoidviolating specific state or municipal laws. However, employers cannot forceemployees to do certain things on break (i.e., drink coffee during a coffeebreak, go to the bathroom during a bathroom break or eat during a meal break).
How long should a break be?For the most part, employers are prohibited from scheduling a break of morethan one hour during the basic eight-hour workday. A lunch break may not beextended for more than one hour by allowing an employee to take a paid restperiod prior to or immediately following the meal period.
Determining break policiesneeds your attention. You must consider the following factors when creating ormodifying policies for meal periods:
• Any existing provisions ina negotiated agreement;
• The availability,convenience and distance of eating establishments;
• Whether employees must bepresent at work to fulfill their work requirements;
• Whether work must beperformed on weekends, during overtime or at night.
Where does all of this leaveyou, the tire dealership manager?
The Department of Laborpromotes rest periods as a benefit because they promote employee efficiency. Inaddition, extended or unusually heavy workloads may cause physical, mental andemotional stress. Rest periods, experts say, help guard against fatigue, stressor lack of concentration, which potentially can lead to errors, injuries andaccidents.
Bottom line: When your statelaws differ from those of the Fair Labor Standards Act, you are required tocomply with the standards that provide employees with the greatest benefit. Toavoid violating specific state or municipal laws, employers may requireemployees to take breaks. To find out if your state requires you to offer estand/or meal periods, visit the U.S. Department of Labor’s Web site atdol.gov/esa/programs/whd/state/meal.htm. To find out if your state requiresrest periods, visit dol.gov/esa/programs/whd/state/rest.htm.
– Source: Tire ReviewBusiness Toolbox
