Paid Lunch periods

dew

It is our practice to pay our hourly-paid employees for their lunch period if their shift works back-to-back with another shift. They get a 20-minute paid lunch. Normally, these employees leave theit work station for lunch. We have an area (the Tool Crib - Stock Room) that is manned by an attendant, but may be required to dispense materials all during the shift. Since we pay the attendant for a 20-min lunch break, may we require the attendant to stay at their work station, and wait on "customers" during their paid lunch period? We do allow (2) 10-minute paid breaks during their normal 8-hour shift.

Pork

DEW: I believe you may need to re-look your meal rest breaks. In a six hour period the ee needs a minimum 30 minute meal break completely relieved of any responsibility to work. You may pay them if you want to, but the FLSA does not require you to pay them. Do not be confused; the ee must have a rest/meal break with no responsibility, or hr/she has had "no rest/meal break" by law. The receptioist who sits at her desk and works answering the phone and eating has not had her break for a meal.

Sorry to break the news, call your friendly wage and hour people and they will provide you with a free copy of the FLSA and OT and EXEMPT vs NONEXEMPT publications.

PORK

Brad Forrister

There are really two questions here - can you have a lunch period of less than 30 minutes if you pay for it, and can you require duties during the lunch period if you pay for it.

Federal law doesn't require you to give a lunch break; it just says that if you do, and if it's at least 30 minutes and is duty-free, you don't have to pay the employee for the time.

Some states have laws or regulations that require lunch breaks, and Kentucky is one of them. Kentucky law says you have to give a "reasonable period" for lunch. The regs say:

"The employee must be completely relieved from duty for the purpose of eating regular meals. Ordinarily, thirty (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." KY 803 KAR 1:065

Our Kentucky Employment Law Letter says periods shorter than 20 minutes would violate the law. I'd interpret that to mean a 20-minute duty-free lunch period is required.

But the law specifically says you and the employee can agree otherwise. So if you're paying for the lunch period, and if the employee agrees to the arrangement, you may come out okay.

Still, it's probably worth running by your employment law attorney, since this provision is a little screwier than those in most states.

Brad Forrister
Director of Publishing
M. Lee Smith Publishers