What are the rights of an employee?

What Are Employee Rights Regarding Breaks?

• Answer:

  Breaks fall into two categories: rest breaks and meal breaks. Federal law does not require either. However, many states do have labor laws regarding them. Unions also negotiate rest and meal breaks for employees. Most employers simply follow the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's, or OSHA's, lead and offer rest and meal breaks per their recommendations. Doing so helps improve productivity and creates a more positive work environment. Fair Labor Standards Act Employers following OSHA's rest and meal guidelines are regulated by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Under these regulations, employers must pay employees for rest break time. A rest break is usually between five and 20 minutes in length. Under FLSA regulations, meal breaks are not paid. Meal breaks must be a period of time for employees to eat a meal uninterrupted by work. If not, the break is not considered a meal break and must be paid. Each state enacts its own laws regarding breaks in the workplace, and a list of state laws regarding rest and meal breaks is maintained by the United States Department of Labor. Unions Unions usually negotiate rest and meal breaks in their collective bargaining agreements. Employers must provide rest and meal breaks according to contract requirements to union members. Union representatives can be helpful in providing information to employees about their rights and responsibilities under the contract. An employer can mandate that an employee take a rest and/or meal break, whether the employee wants it or not; otherwise, the employer may be held in breach of contract. It is the employee's responsibility to take breaks when required. Federal Exceptions Under the health care reform bill of March 2010, employers are required to provide reasonable breaks, in a private area, to employees that are nursing mothers, for the sole purpose of expressing breast milk. Employers with less than 50 employees are exempt from this law, only if they can prove undue hardship. Disabled employees are protected under the Federal Americans With Disabilities Act which provides reasonable accommodations for disabled employees. Such reasonable accommodations would include more time to use the bathroom facilities during break times. Federal child labor laws only govern hours and industries in which children can work; rest and meal breaks are regulated by state law.