A company allowed its employees to take a half hour lunch break. However, the break was uncompensated, and the employees were not permitted to leave the employer's premises during the break. Nevertheless, these employees did leave their positions on the production line and eat in an employee lunchroom. They also went outdoors at their discretion. Should the employer be required under the FLSA to compensate these hourly production workers for their 30-minute lunch breaks? What about maintenance workers who might be recalled early from their lunch breaks if an equipment breakdown required it?

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Ansley Woodward

Business

13 December, 11:52

A company allowed its employees to take a half hour lunch break. However, the break was uncompensated, and the employees were not permitted to leave the employer's premises during the break. Nevertheless, these employees did leave their positions on the production line and eat in an employee lunchroom. They also went outdoors at their discretion. Should the employer be required under the FLSA to compensate these hourly production workers for their 30-minute lunch breaks? What about maintenance workers who might be recalled early from their lunch breaks if an equipment breakdown required it?

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Inchworm · Answer 1

FLSA rules establish that only short coffee breaks (between 5 to 20 minutes) should be compensated as work time. Meal periods that last at least 30 minutes are not compensable work time.

If maintenance workers are recalled earlier, that time counts as work time because they are performing their normal work tasks.