Lawsuits regarding meal periods and rest breaks have received publicity in recent years. According to a white paper published by law firm, Hopkins & Carley, in December of 2005, an Alameda County jury in the state of California awarded $172 million including $115 million in punitive damages to a group of Wal-Mart employees in a class action lawsuit concerning required breaks (Daniel F. Pyne III, 2010).
Because small business owners are operating on lean budgets and trying to be as productive as possible with every dollar and every hour, they commonly fail to provide meal periods and rest breaks to their non-exempt, hourly employees.
In a typical eight (8) hour workday, California law requires that companies offer a minimum of two (2) ten-minute breaks. Federal and California law generally require a 30-minute meal break if a non-exempt employee works more than five (5) hours on a given day. Penalties accrue for every day that the employer fails to provide these breaks. If you are involved in an audit, the EEOC will typically ask to review payroll records going back from 2 to 5 years for both current and past employees.
How can you avoid being out of compliance and accruing penalties?
Here are some recommendations:
1.) Employers should adopt or update written policies in their employee handbook concerning meal periods and rest breaks. The policy should state that meal periods and rest breaks are available to all non-exempt employees. It is important that employees acknowledge this practice in writing.
2.) Rest breaks need to be provided at appropriate intervals in the workday rather than being combined and taken as one large chunk of non-work time during, or at the end of the day.
3.) Employers should utilize an appropriate mechanism such as a time card for capturing all hours worked as well as any meal periods and rest breaks taken. Also, the employee should sign the time card themselves.
4.) Employers should require non-exempt employers to record the actual times at which they begin and conclude their meal periods and rest breaks.
Remember: Require your employees to sign a timecard. Require your employees to take meal periods and rest breaks. It’s not just a law but also a good practice to have. Meal periods and rest breaks help employees recharge their battery and avoid injury.