Make-up Time During Lunch Hour
chaiscom
4 Posts
Is it illegal to work through your lunch hour to make up time missed for an appointment? I have an appointment this week (doctor appt.) and I will only be gone about an hour. Is it ok to make up that time during my lunch? I was told by a manager he cannot allow me to make up the time during my lunch hour or use my lunch hour to make up the time. He says it is against the law. I had never heard of this being illegal and wanted to find out for sure. Thank you!
Comments
It depends on where you are located. A number of states do require that employers provide people with a break after a specified amount of time worked.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
Doesn't look like Michigan has any state laws on the matter. However, if you are union, the CBA might cover rest/meal periods. There are also sometimes specific laws for specific industries. Beyond that, the employer does have the right to have this as a policy and to refuse to let an employee work through a meal break.
I am in Texas and we (the employer) require anyone working more than 8 hours to take at least a 30 minute lunch based on our company policy.
I would take it one step further: within the boundaries of applicable laws, you work as your employer allows you to work. You are not entitled to hours or breaks except as provided for by law. Additionally, unless there were some other issue about the timing of your break in the course of your scheduled shift or other criterion specified by law or regulation in your state, your time off the clock to attend to personal business (medical or otherwise) would satisfy the employer's requirement to give you a break if such a break law applied to you in your state. Of course, employers compete among each other for talent and bizarre scheduling practices can create a real recruitment and retention problem for the employer, which is a primary reason why people don't generally manage workforces that way.
However, if your appointment is covered by FMLA, the act of preventing you from working the hour on your typical break time may be seen as retaliatory. What would your manager do if you were gone for an hour to close on a house or see your kid perform in a play?