Introduction to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)

F. M EAL B REAKS Generally, time spent eating a meal is non-compensable if the time spent is a “bona fide” meal break. DOL regulations state that an employee must be completely relieved from duty during their meal break for the break to be “bona fide.” 45 Most courts, however, have applied a more liberal “predominant benefit” standard to determine whether the meal break is compensable under the FLSA. 46 Under that standard, if a meal break predominantly benefits the employee, not the employer, the time is not compensable hours worked under the FLSA. It is not necessary that an employee be permitted to leave the premises if the employee is otherwise completely freed from duties during the meal break. However, employers should ensure that employees who take meals at their workstations are not working during an unpaid meal break, which would convert the time to compensable work hours. Employees who are required to eat at their desks or work stations will likely be considered to be working. G. R EST B REAKS The FLSA does not require employers to allow employees to take rest breaks. However, DOL regulations recognize that it is common practice to allow them. 47 Significantly, the regulations provide that rest periods of up to twenty minutes long must be counted toward hours worked. The regulations state:

Rest periods of short duration, running from 5 minutes to about 20 minutes, are common in industry. They promote the efficiency of the employee and are customarily paid for as working time. They must be counted as hours worked. Compensable time of rest periods may not be offset against other working time such as compensable waiting time or on-call time. 48

Employers should note that it is immaterial with respect to the compensability of rest periods whether the employee drinks coffee, smokes, goes to the restroom, etc. 49

H. B REAKS FOR N URSING M OTHERS The FLSA requires that employers provide employees with reasonable break time to express breast milk for a nursing child for one year after the child’s birth. 50 Employers are not required to compensate employees for nursing break time. 51 Employers with less than fifty employees need not provide nursing breaks if it would impose undue hardship. 52

Introduction to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ©2019 (s) Liebert Cassidy Whitmore 16