Lunch Breaks For Your Employees - Paid or Unpaid?

[Jeff Madsen]

I've always paid my guys for the whole work day. Lots of days they're eating on the run so I've always figured why not pay them. By the same token, some days they stop at Subway and take extra time to stuff it down their gullets. What do you do with your employees? I want to be fair to my guys and at the same time I feel like I've been loosey-goosey with this issue.

 

[Ken Snow]

There are laws regarding breaks make sure you learn and follow them if you consider deducting for them. I believe any break of 20 minutes or less must be paid and also even if longer if it is inter up table it cannot be deducted. Check IRS and state guidelines.

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[XTREME1]

15 minutes per 4 hr shift paid and a lunch break paid or unpaid and optional.

law per states may vary and be careful to know them. The feds say any break 15-20 minutes or less is paid and can n ot be deducted when determining overtime.

Federal law does not require lunch or coffee breaks. However, when employers do offer short breaks (usually lasting about 5 to 20 minutes), federal law considers the breaks as compensable work hours that would be included in the sum of hours worked during the work week and considered in determining if overtime was worked. Unauthorized extensions of authorized work breaks need not be counted as hours worked when the employer has expressly and unambiguously communicated to the employee that the authorized break may only last for a specific length of time, that any extension of the break is contrary to the employer's rules, and any extension of the break will be punished.
Bona fide meal periods (typically lasting at least 30 minutes), serve a different purpose than coffee or snack breaks and, thus, are not work time and are not compensable.

 

[bob vawter]

lunch breaks?.............that so funny!

 

[Cleaning God]

Is hitting the drive-through and eating in the van between jobs considered a lunch break? I always considered the time spent while winding up hoses as a break.

 

[hogjowl]

We eat on the run, and I pay my son on straight commission, so it depends on who you ask as to if he is paid for lunch, or not.

But, I always end up buying lunch, so the crumb snatcher better not complain!

 

[TomKing]

There are laws regarding breaks make sure you learn and follow them if you consider deducting for them. I believe any break of 20 minutes or less must be paid and also even if longer if it is inter up table it cannot be deducted. Check IRS and state guidelines.

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We outline in our company policy what lunch and breaks are.

We also pay our guys from the time they start to the time they stop.

Many days they miss meals or eat on the run.

We have live GPS in all our trucks and it is up in the office on a monitor. If they where to take advantage of the situation many people would see it.

This issue is all about creating a company culture that makes people want to help to do what is profitable.

If you profit share with your employees at the end of the year they are motivated to work hard.

 

[Desk Jockey]

Fire, Mold crews get 10-minutes every 2-hours paid with a 30-minutes lunch not paid. Carpet crews get no breaks, the travel time between jobs are their breaks and they get 30-minutes for lunch not paid. Occasionally schedule permitting they will work through their lunch and leave 30-minutes early.