breaks
bnortin
6 Posts
I work for a not for profit community mental health agency. We give staff "breaks" (separtae from lunch) that are paid. What if staff do not recieve their break for the day due to client need? They are paid either way but I have found staff wanting to leave early since for whatever reason they did not receive their "break". I have explained that leaving early is not an option but they still think it is not fair as again some staff receive their breaks while others do not.
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Comments
What state are you in? Not all states require any breaks at all. You are correct in the fact that if they are shorter than a specific duration, they must be paid.
Unless your state requires breaks, then your policy is fine. Absent that, you are not required to allow them to leave early. I've seen lots of employees skip a break (for no good reason) because they want to leave early that day. I would put a written policy together that states that is not acceptable. if you do decide to let them leave early, I would make sure the policy states that they will only be paid through the time in which they clock out. So in essence, they are getting to leave early without any paid break.
Plus I suspect the "unfairness" evens out over time. And unfairness is not always illegal. That said, I would watch to see who is not getting a break. A lot of times the hardest/best workers are the ones who don't have the time to take a break. So make sure that you aren't punishing the wrong group of employees.