“My employees have asked permission to combine their two 10-minute rest breaks into one 20-minute rest break so they have time to eat something in the morning. I don’t see a problem with this but wanted to check.”
Your HR Survival Tip
This is one of those times when you have to be the boss and say no. It’s not that you might personally object to their idea; it’s that you don’t want to pay the price for it.
A very recent court case, Rodriguez v. E.M.E. Inc, confirmed you will be in trouble if you agree to your employees’ request. Their employees requested combining the rest breaks and management saw an advantage to doing it so there was an informal agreement. However, an ex-employee filed a lawsuit and the court didn’t agree there was a good reason for not following the law.
To be clear, it is not against the law to combine rest breaks but you need a very good business reason for doing so that shows “practical considerations make it infeasible.” In English, that means you’re unlikely to win that argument in court.
The usual, and recommended, pattern for meal and rest breaks in an 8-hour workday is:
- One 10-minute paid rest break in the middle of the first 4 hours of work.
- One 30-minute (and not a minute less) unpaid meal break that begins no later than the end of the 5th hour of work. A meal break is unnecessary if your employee will clock out within 6 hours.
- One 10-minute paid rest break in the middle of the second 4 hours of work.
The rest break language says a 10-minute rest break is due whenever they have worked the greater portion of a 4-hour period. While you have the option of providing a longer rest period, it can’t be at the expense of the second rest break.
What’s the price of not complying? One extra hour of pay to each employee affected each day it happens. It’s called “penalty pay” and must show up as a separate line item on the paycheck statement so you have proof it was paid.
Penalty pay is due if they can’t take the rest breaks (as opposed to choosing not to take one or both); when the meal break is less than 30 minutes or skipped; and when the meal break starts after the 5th hour of work. As a business owner, you often feel handcuffed by the employment laws. However, even at an employee’s request, you still need to comply with those laws or pay the penalties.
Review timecards each week to discover where you need to tighten up your meal and rest break practices. Then take a big gulp and be prepared to either discipline employees who don’t follow the rules or pay the penalty. Ignoring this will cost you even more.
Leave a Reply