Yes, your employer may ask you to take a lunch break. If you refuse, you could be fired. New York`s lunch break laws apply to all New York public and private employers and their employees who work in the state. In addition, the New York Department of Labor asserts that Section 162 applies to anyone who works in blue-collar, white-collar and managerial occupations that fall under state labor laws. This means that employers must provide meal breaks for employees and hourly workers. The short answer is yes, but there are caveats to this rule. Your shorter 15-minute lunch break will likely be classified as a “short break” under New York labor laws rather than an actual lunch break. Although New York State labor laws do not require employers to provide for short rest periods, if they are granted to or withdrawn from employees, they must be counted as working time. The Department of Labor follows Federal Order 29 CFR § 785.18, which provides that short rest periods of 5 minutes to about 20 minutes are common in the workplace. They promote employee performance and are usually paid in working time. They must be counted as hours worked. Compensable rest periods cannot be deducted from other hours of work such as compensatory waiting periods or waiting hours.
This means that if you opt for a shorter lunch break instead of a full lunch break, your employer has more control over the length of your break. For example, if an employer prevents you from taking more than 5 minutes off, you may be forced to take a real lunch break or a working lunch to have enough time to eat. Employers do not have to pay their employees for meal breaks. Although state law requires a meal break, employers must take shorter breaks throughout the day. An employer may grant these breaks at its discretion. Even if the topic of the brown bag lunch session has nothing to do with work, your employer can`t force your presence unless they also give you an extra lunch break if you choose to do so. Even if a meal is served at a lunch-and-learn, your employer must pay you for your hours worked as if you were doing your usual job. However, employees who voluntarily choose to attend such lunches on topics are granted meal time under the law, do not need to be paid, and are not entitled to an additional lunch break. Most ordinary workers know that there are New York State lunch break laws, but many are often confused about the scope of their rights under the law. New York`s meal break laws protect workers by requiring their employers to give them at least 30 minutes of meal breaks.
Not everyone always takes a meal break. Sometimes we are so absorbed in our work that we voluntarily skip lunch. Sometimes a work schedule is so busy that we barely find a minute or two to take a sip of coffee, let alone sit down and have a full-fledged lunch. As employment lawyers in New York, we are asked the same questions over and over again, so we hope that by addressing many of these common confusions here, we can give you a quick answer without having to seek advice from a lawyer. Under Section 162 of the New York State Labor Code, employees are entitled to a minimum lunch break of 30 minutes without exception, unless the employee voluntarily waives their right to lunch. This means that it doesn`t matter if staff shortages or emergencies make it difficult for your employer to give you a lunch break – they still have to comply with the law. Walmart was successfully prosecuted for this type of violation under a similar California law a few years ago. That said, section 162 is a flexible law and an employer can move your lunch break anywhere in the window from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
In other words, if you usually have lunch but due to staff shortages your employer asks you to have lunch at 1 p.m., this type of scheduling is allowed under New York`s meal break law. No, your employer can`t force you to eat lunch at your desk. For a lunch break to comply with the laws of the State of New York, the employee must be completely released from their work obligations during the lunch break. In general, employees who are required to remain at their desk or workplace during meals are not considered fully relieved of their duties. However, you can voluntarily have lunch at your desk. In general, no. Keep in mind that a lunch break is defined as a 30-minute window between 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. If you skip your scheduled lunch at noon, you will not be able to leave at 16:30 instead of 17:00, as this is outside the legal time window.
In other words, if you and your employer agree to such an agreement, it is 100% acceptable, unless the agreement takes the form of a long-term contractual agreement that could result in the employee refusing a reasonable lunch break if he or she wants one. Most employees in New York have to take their lunch breaks and can`t decide. However, there are some situations where an employee can eat without taking a break from their duties. First, an employee may request a meal time waiver in exchange for additional breaks and meal times that occur at other times. Section 162 of the New York State Labor Code requires New York employers to provide lunch breaks to most workers who work more than six hours a day. The length of these required breaks depends on the industry in which the employee works and the shift in which he or she works. In addition to the mandatory lunch, all workers are entitled to an additional 20-minute meal break between 17:00 and 19:00 on weekdays from before 11:00 to after 19:00. Violations of the meal break law are more frequent than expected, and even some large companies that generally have a good reputation break the law. For example, last year, Apple was caught violating California`s meal break laws. When it comes to meals and breaks, only 21 states currently require meal breaks, and only nine employers provide their employees with regular breaks. New York has rules for meal breaks, but breaks are not necessary at the state level. If employers give breaks even if they don`t have to, they still have to apply their own rules fairly.
New York requires a 30-minute lunch break for employees who work shifts longer than 6 hours that extend over lunch. An additional 20-minute break between 17:00 and 19:00 is required for shift workers, starting before 11:00 and continuing after 19:00. In factories, a meal of 1 hour must be provided, in other establishments of more than 6 hours between 13 and 6 hours a meal of more than 45 minutes. Meal times and breaks are not required under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which sets requirements for a federal minimum wage and overtime pay. However, individual states are allowed to go beyond what federal law requires, and nearly half of states, including New York, have a minimum wage above the federal minimum. In New York, the minimum is even higher than the state mandate. States may also require employers to provide meal and rest breaks if they so wish. Unfortunately, the practice of depriving employees of the lunch breaks they deserve is widespread, and we`d love to hear your stories. Know your rights under New York law and don`t neglect them. If you feel you have been unfairly denied a meal break, you should take action to protect your rights and hire an experienced employment lawyer to assess your claim. Note: Your employer is not required to compensate you for the time you spend eating or lunch. This is because meal times that meet legal requirements do not have to be considered “hours worked” and employees do not need to be paid for this time.
Maybe, but it depends. The New York Department of Labor allows exceptions to his minimum 30-minute break. Permission is normally granted only in very specific or unusual cases, and it is granted only after the Ministry of Labour has thoroughly considered the need for a shorter lunch. In other words, if your employer has received a special permit for a 20-minute lunch break, you may be required to eat quickly. For example, some technical staff may be forced to take shorter lunch breaks when a longer period away from their desk would be detrimental to the business. If your employer does not have this special permit, you have the right to request a 30-minute lunch, or you can involve the NYS Department of Labor. New York`s meal break law contains different requirements for factory workers and nonworkers. While many employers give employees time for lunch, a lunch break isn`t necessarily a requirement.
Federal and New York state laws differ in what employers must do. Even when it is mandatory, there are different rules about how and when breaks are granted. Employers can apply to the Department of Labor for shorter periods, so if you regularly receive shorter meal breaks than listed above, you`ll need to know if the shorter period has been approved by the state. While some states have labor regulations that require employees to be given one or more working days off, the New York government does not have such regulations. Therefore, in New York, all breaks or rest periods are made available to employees at the discretion of the employer. Factory workers and non-workers may have their lunch breaks reduced to 30 minutes, unless they are distressed due to the shorter break. In some cases, when only one person is on duty or the only person has a particular occupation, it is common for the employee to eat at the workplace without relief. For example, many security guards eat their lunch at their desks so they can continue to monitor the workplace and protect other employees.