Breaks

Brandy

Do you know of any rules or laws in South Dakota regarding the number of breaks lasting less than 15 minutes that are allowed? Or any laws regarding longer or more frequent breaks for office vs. production departments within a company?

If not, any suggestions on how to handle the complaints between the different departments?

Paul in Cannon Beach

This is from the South Dakot Bureau of Labor website:

South Dakota does not have a law that requires an employer to provide rest breaks and meal periods

Link: [url]http://www.state.sd.us/dol/dlm/wage-Q&A.htm[/url]

Are you asking how many breaks are "allowed" or "required"? According to the website, SD doesn't require employers to provide any rest breaks or meal periods.

Federal law doesn't require lunch or coffee breaks. Neither does South Dakota apparently.

So, whatever breaks you are giving your employees or allowing would be determined by your own policies.

Your post seems to imply that one department resents the amount of breaks another department is taking? Is that the case?

Brandy

Yes, that is the case. Production is allowed two fifteen minute breaks. Our sales department on the other hand feels the need to take five or six "five minute" smoke breaks between calls to relieve the stress and this is ok by the department manager. The problem is production sees sales employees going out to smoke numerous times and they are not allowed to do the same.

HRCalico

Welcome to the forum, Brandy. Allow me to define the word "fair" to you (as in, IT'S NOT FAIR!) - fair means me first and I get the best part, to heck with everyone else. If someone has a better deal than someone else, it's never fair. My seventh grade civics teacher always said if anyone told you life is fair, they were trying to sell you something.

In our manufacturing plant, our production departments take two fifteen minute breaks. (On a side note, they will always drag out to seventeen, then nineteen or twenty minutes. We'll speak to some people and ask them to be the leaders - get up first - in dragging people back to work. Two weeks later, same thing. But I digress.) Our office staff does not take regularly scheduled breaks. I think they keep it "fair" by taking bits and pieces here and there - a personal phone call since they have a phone at their desk, a quick check of personal e-mail since they have a computer, etc.

If you'd like to tell us a little more about the squabbles, perhaps we can give a bit more direct advice.

CindyG

Hello, Brandy! We were having the same issues with office employees taking many mini breaks and the production employees who get two 15 minute breaks seeing them walking by to the smoking area. Now everyone takes two 15 minute breaks. Production has set schedules and they all do mandatory stretches together as a group right after breaktime, which prevents any extended breaks. If someone isn't back to stretch on time, it's noticed by the manager or floor leader. Office employees stagger their breaks so that there is adequate phone coverage. Here in Maine, we're required to offer a break after 6 hours of work, but we allow two 15 minute paid breaks, one in the morning before the unpaid lunch break and one in the afternoon.

Whatever

There is no way reasonable way to handle the problem between different departments. Different departments have different requirements. Since the total amount of the breaks is about the same, there is no need to change the policy.
Question-what is the policy for non-smokers in the sales department?

Brandy

Everyone in the company is allowed two fifteen minute breaks, one before lunch and one after lunch. Sales has just decided to allow the smokers to take their breaks more frequently and sometimes they turn into ten minute breaks, but they still take three or so breaks.

Our handbook states that each department will determine employee breaks and lunches. Due to the nature of their work, some employees must take breaks at specified times while other employees must be more flexible taking breaks and meals as the workflow allows.

With that policy in place, I can see no recourse to the situation. Or do you have any advice?

Whatever

Heck no - you can't please all of the people all of the time. You have a program in place that seems fair, why fiddle with it.

Paul in Cannon Beach

If this is your biggest problem at work, be thankful. It sounds like your policy allows for dept. managers to set their own break policies and that is what is happening.

Different departments, slightly different rules. Its not that unusual.

You could state that break times do not exceed 30 minutes whether they are taken as 2 fifteen minute breaks or 3 tens. That would be "fair" but allow for some flexibility.

Some one of course will ask if he can take 15 two minute breaks.

Whirlwind

Words to live by (that have served me well on many occasions): "Equal" and "equitable" are not necessarily the same thing.

HRPager

Brandy,

Something to consider is changing the location of the "smoking area" to make it more difficult to take shorter breaks. We are going to a smoke free campus (we gave employees the first warning and it will probably be 6 months before we make the official switch) which means after the switch is the only place people can smoke on the premises is in their vehicles. This makes it a lot more difficult to take several shorter breaks rather than a 15 minute break. We are working with the SD Quit Line and our Health Insurance Company to encourage employees to quit. We are finding that just the introduction to these changes make employees must more aware of their several "smoke breaks".

Something completely different that the other advice but something to think about.

Brandy

Thanks to all of you for your comments and advise. I appreciate it.