Lunch Breaks

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Beach. Amusement. Sunshine. School is almost out and eager teenagers will soon be knocking on your doors seeking summer employment. If you plan on hiring teenagers this, or any summer, here are a few facts to keep in mind.

N.J.S.A, section 34:2-21.3  prohibits New Jersey minors under 18 years old from working more than 6…

In December, I blogged about off-the-clock work in my post Unreported, Off-the-Clock Work.  Off-the-clock work includes meal break time, and issues arise when employees work during these breaks, or claim that they work during these breaks, but are not paid.  Recently, an Ohio federal judge decertified a class of employees who alleged that their…

I often post on and discuss working time issues, e.g. travel time, on-call time, automatic lunch deduction cases, training time and, of late, after-hours employee email/blackberry usage and whether it is "work hours."

On Thursday, January 17, 2013, at 11AM, I am giving a one-hour Webcast on the topic "What Is Working Time and When Is…

On December 1, 2011, the United States Department of Labor (“DOL”) announced that it will be conducting an “enforcement initiative” focused on the residential care industry in North Carolina. The residential care industry consists of group homes, long term care facilities, and other businesses that provide care for individuals who are incapable of caring for…

I recently gave a presentation at a national wage-hour conference in Miami on the perils of automatic deductions for lunch and the possibility that such a procedure could lead to class actions, with the allegation that the employee(s) worked through lunch but nevertheless suffered an automatic deductions.  I have also found that many hospitals and…

A group of satellite television dish technicians suing for overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) have been denied class certification based on the court’s finding that there was not sufficient commonality among the class members, or, put differently, there was too much of a need for individual scrutiny.   The case is entitled Shim …

There are employers whose “smart” time clocks automatically make a thirty minute deduction every day for lunch, supposedly and assumedly taken.  I have railed against this practice, advising that the far safer thing is to have employees punch out and then back in for lunch, because someone, somewhere down the line, will assert that they…

Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, there is no law requiring employees receive a lunch period or break times. However, when the employer gives time for lunch, the employees must receive at least thirty minutes and the time must be uninterrupted. Put differently, the employees must be completely relieved from duty. When employees are not…

I have encountered a number of cases where employees do not, whether unintentionally or otherwise, work through their lunch hours (or half-hours) and then later claim they are owed wages or overtime for that work.  It is crucial to understand that it is not enough to simply, merely have a policy that requires employees to…