Do Americans get breaks at work?
Posted by ajepper@reddit | AskAnAmerican | View on Reddit | 71 comments
Do Americans who get paid per hour have a legally protected break? I know this is different in each state so please share that in your answers.
HotSteak@reddit
Yep you get a paid 15 minutes for every 4 hours you work as well as a lunch break
Historical_Low4458@reddit
The lunch break isn't always paid.
sircastor@reddit
I don't think I've encountered a place that paid a lunch break.
travelinmatt76@reddit
Mine sort of does, but we work a 12 hour shift and you just take breaks and lunch when you are able, and if a job comes up break is over.
sircastor@reddit
That might not be legal. I don't know much about Texas Labor Law nor your industry (which might have exceptions) but you might look into it.
travelinmatt76@reddit
It's a security job, so it has exceptions. If you absolutely need a break you can tell them you need one. But typically when jobs come up they need to be covered, especially emergent work.
SaoirseMayes@reddit
My last job had a 30 minute unpaid break and a 30 minute paid break, although the paid break was only 30 minutes between when we stopped and started working again. The only reason we had one was so we could be assigned new work within the small amount of time we were actually in the break room.
HotSteak@reddit
Mine is not.
Mountain-Lychee4359@reddit
The lunch break has to be taken before 6 hours and is a required 30 min per 8 hrs nationally.
DartDaimler@reddit
Not quite. Federal law (FLDA, Fair Labor Standards Act) doesn’t require breaks of any kind, but if breaks ARE provided, they - must be paid if 20 minutes or less - meal breaks of 30 minutes or more may be unpaid, but only if the employee does no work during them. “Working lunches” must be paid time.
And then most states have requirements about breaks & meal time. The employer has to comply with both federal & state laws.
Mountain-Lychee4359@reddit
Ah, okay, well this is Kansas law.
moonbunnychan@reddit
There is no national law, it's left entirely up to the states. And they are wildly different in their rules.
reichrunner@reddit
Thats not a federal requirement unless your a minor.
pisscrystal@reddit
This is not federal law, it depends on the state.
larch303@reddit
For the most part, yes
Might not in like fast food or something but generally jobs will provide 2x15 min breaks and 1x30 min break
itcheyness@reddit
Yes, when a worker drops dead, we're allowed a break from work for however long it takes to drag their body out and toss it in a ditch outside.
ajepper@reddit (OP)
lol the rest of the labour laws there seem horrific, so I am surprised to see legally protected breaks. When I think back though, actors are often on a break in TV shows.
moonbunnychan@reddit
26 states have no laws at all, so TECHNICALLY they don't have to give you one. Most do, because that's the wise thing to do, but in mine I've several times not gotten one and there's legally nothing I can do about it.
Mediocre_Daikon6935@reddit
Legally, you can just fuck off.
What are they going to do? Fire you? There is a massive labor shortage. And Trump maybe an asshole, but it isn’t like they can replace you with some illegal.
Comprehensive_Tea708@reddit
If you're salaried, you'll be written up, PIP-ed, and eventually fired if you continue to skip the mandatory daily lunchtime status call. Said call having to be at lunchtime due to people's wildly staggered work schedules.
So you just wolf down your sad desk lunch and suck it up.
Mediocre_Daikon6935@reddit
😂
Right.
Do you know how expensive it is to replace you?
Also. Your salary. Act like it. You’re in an executive position, otherwise you wouldn’t be salary. Look into your rights.
Comprehensive_Tea708@reddit
My office days are behind me, so that's all over anyway.
But a particular thing I did notice was that the pressure to work through lunch comes as much from colleagues as it does from management. Typically in big cities, young parents often have to live an hour or two away, and in order to get home before their children's bedtimes they want the earliest possible schedules. I knew one guy who worked 5am - 2pm. The hustle-through-lunch-ethos is definitely a thing in the white collar professional and technical working world.
Mediocre_Daikon6935@reddit
Which is absolutely fine. That is their choice.
Popular-Local8354@reddit
It’s horrific by first world standards, but they’re robust by global standards.
SlippingAwayWith@reddit
I don’t believe you actually know what labor laws we have. You didn’t even know we had breaks.
jamiesugah@reddit
I get 30 minutes for lunch and two 15-minute breaks to be used whenever, so I usually just end up taking an hour lunch.
TsundereLoliDragon@reddit
Yes, but you're continuously beaten by a cudgel the entire time.
Lulusgirl@reddit
I am a bartender at a restaurant and I still get paid hourly. I do not get breaks. If I need to "step off" it's to use the bathroom or eat during my long days.
LingJules@reddit
Over-the-road truck drivers don't have to follow state laws. We all have to take a half-hour break from driving before we drive eight hours, but that half-hour "break" can be spent doing some other kind of work. For example, my husband usually fuels the truck, washes the windows, and checks the tires during his 30, and that almost takes the whole time. On his log book he can be on-duty during this entire 30-minute period and then go straight back to driving for three more hours (eleven hours of driving total) and that's all perfectly legal.
rockettaco37@reddit
15 minutes every 4 hours and 30 minutes for lunch if full time is how it works at my job
Calm_Independence796@reddit
In California we legally have to take a break before 5.5 hours on your shift. So you either work past 5.5 hours or leave before 5.5 hours
tornessa@reddit
I’m pretty sure it’s 6. If you don’t work over 6 hours, you don’t have to take a meal break. “you can agree with your boss to waive this meal period provided you do not work more than 6 hours in the workday”
Return_Of_The_Whack@reddit
I literally got hopelessly addicted to cigarettes at age 17 because it gave me an excuse to at least step out for a few minutes. I'm almost thirty still ripping darts twelve years late rbecause it's the only way I get to step off the job and breathe.
leaveme1912@reddit
Yes, the amount usually depends on the state, but I'm sure there is some kind of federally mandatory break
Bone0713@reddit
There isn't. The FLSA leaves break requirements up to the states and says that if they're provided, breaks less than 20min must be paid and lunch periods must be at least 30 min but can only be unpaid if you're are completely free from doing any work related tasks. The only exception to this is that mothers who are breastfeeding during the first year after giving birth are federally required to be given breaks in a private location that is not a bathroom to express milk.
annizoli@reddit
No. I work in healthcare, and I am not guaranteed a break on a 12 hour shift. The closest thing to a break is when I call dispatch and tell them to take me out of service so I can go put more gas in the ambulance. If it's a 24 hour shift I can get 5 minutes out of service to take a quick shower, but only if I'm already at my station and not on a call.
It sucks. I wish we had better labor laws.
SuperNa7uraL-@reddit
I’m in Michigan. We get two 15 minute breaks and a half hour for lunch in an 8 hour day.
lrhouston@reddit
In Ohio, there are no legally mandated breaks or lunches
Formal_Ground6513@reddit
Yes and no. I'm on break right now. I wfh so I simply take breaks and lunch when I need. I get 45 minutes for lunch and two 10 minute breaks.
My job before this was retail management. Skeleton crew. I was always alone. Open to close, alone all day. We had three employees total and I never, ever had consistent breaks or lunch. It's illegal as hell and no one cared. It's the main reason I quit.
Reasonable-Company71@reddit
Hawaii-there are no legally mandated breaks if you are 16 and older
Violet_Purpleplum@reddit
Barely. We get in trouble if we don’t clock out for lunch even if the reason is that we’re working and there is no one else to take over. In my case it’s patient care and they never offer you a cover for lunch. So…this is just lunch we don’t even know what brakes are. Not in health care anyway.
justlurkingnjudging@reddit
In Texas, no. In California, yes & the company owes you money if you don’t get to take it (although it’s not exactly easy to pursue that money)
ENovi@reddit
Wherever I’ve worked hourly it gets taken care of during payroll and I get an extra hour of pay. For example if I am scheduled for 7 hours and take my lunch 5 1/2 hours into my shift (so a half hour past my 5th hour) then I’ll be paid for 8 hours that day. This would definitely be harder to automatically track at a salaried job or possibly even a small business but at places I’ve worked it’s automatically handled via the time you clock in/out.
justlurkingnjudging@reddit
That’s how it is at my current job too. I worked at a different company that didn’t follow the law as far as breaks and getting paid for those has been an ongoing legal process for a while now
Current_Poster@reddit
Technically yes, in practice, not always.
housewithapool2@reddit
I implore to think of Americans more like citizens of Europe.
France, Finland, Italy and Ireland, they are all European, they have different labor protection laws. It's more like that.
A loose agreement for the bare minimum..
LeSkootch@reddit
Yes.
Morgueannah@reddit
It depends on the state. In New Jersey, only minors and lactating mothers have required breaks. I work in veterinary medicine and my workplace allows us a 15 minute lunch only if our shift is 7 hours long or longer and we're supposed to clock out for it, although we usually just move to the computers in the back and work while eating so we don't have to. Beyond that we're just out of luck, although we do pitch in to help each other get some down time when needed.
mdavis360@reddit
Not only do we get breaks but smokers get extra breaks! For some reason…
Mediocre_Daikon6935@reddit
Saw an Ems agency go nicotine free.
It lasted 3 days. One computer got smashed.
alwaysforgettingmyun@reddit
In my state, WI, no required breaks. My current job it'd be a big pain if they did require an official logged out break, because I work from home with lots of downtime, I can do whatever I want as long as I'm ready if the phone rings, and most nights it doesn't ring much. so have no need for a traditional break, but am the only one on during my shift, so if a break were mandated someone would have to log on in the middle of their off shift and cover for me while I'm mostly doing nothing except waiting around in case the phone rings.
Steavee@reddit
Not every state has laws that require it.
In my state, we have no mandatory break or meal periods.
Rosesandbubblegum@reddit
Sometimes. In my state, my boss always made it clear they were being nice and the break could be revoked if they needed me.
TheLastLornak@reddit
I'm a member of a labor union. We get a 15 minute break every 2.5 hours. Lunch is either a paid 30 minute break with food provided or one hour unpaid, no food provided. If we work more then 5 hours without a meal we get overtime.
Hot_Depth_3367@reddit
In the service industry I absolutely have never gotten a break. Ie waitressing and bartending.
jvhgh@reddit
As you said, it is different in each state. Federally there are no break requirements, however, if the job does offer breaks, it has to follow the federal guidelines. Which is that short breaks (20 minutes or less) are paid, and lunch break is 30 minutes paid or unpaid.
Pennsylvania - Does not require breaks for adults. Each job I worked did give 30 minutes unpaid lunch and 2 15 minute breaks.
Different_Bat4715@reddit
Yes, in my state you are required to have at least a 10 minute break for every 4 hours worked and a 30 minute lunch break if working over 5 hours.
phantomsteel@reddit
No more than 3 hours without a break and no more than 5 without a lunch as well.
With my crew; start at 7, paid 15min break at 10, unpaid 30 min lunch at 12, paid 15 min break at 2, go home at 3:30. It's nice because over half the day is done by lunch and each work block gets shorter. And we always have a bit of daylight after work even in the winter.
jettech737@reddit
Yes, legally im required to get a 30 minute meal period and 2 15 minute breaks. At my job though I sometimes dont do much for most of the day if pilots aren't calling for maintenance issues on the planes so I can't complain much. If I do get a really busy day I can elect to work through my meal period and get paid for it, but that has to be decision. They can't force me to do it.
ILoveBigCockroaches@reddit
I personally don't as someone who works in food service. I also never got PTO or sick leave. And yes, I'm planning to move abroad for more employee rights and cheaper education.
Aloh4mora@reddit
Washington State L&I regulations
SeaRevolutionary1450@reddit
Pretty sure every state has some sort of protection just slightly different kinds. Last I worked an hourly job, it was a 30 minute break for a 6 or more hour shift.
myname_1s_mud@reddit
Legally yes. It doesn't always work out that way though depending on the job
PomPomMom93@reddit
Some do, some don’t.
12B88M@reddit
There is no federal law for ing such breaks
Kamikaz3J@reddit
There is no federal labor law requiring breaks
uyakotter@reddit
California has a break time calculator.https://www.calaborlaw.com/california-meal-break-law-for-employees/
ALoungerAtTheClubs@reddit
I worked at Target years ago while in college, and you'd get two paid 15-minuge breaks and an unpaid 30-minute break in an 8-hour day.
doctorthemoworm@reddit
Well, it depends on the workplace and how many hours you work that day. In my state, you cannot work more than 6 hours without at least a half hour meal break (as far as I'm aware, not sure if that's changed lately).
Hymneth@reddit
I can't speak for millions of people, of course, but I work at a hospital and we do have mandated breaks. For an 8 hour shift you get one 15min break and a 30 minute lunch. For a 12 hour shift you get two 15 min breaks and a 30 minute lunch.
Now, that doesn't always mean you can or will take them, but that is what policy says
Mivlya@reddit
For a standard 8 hour shift, you're mandated 2 15-minute breaks and 1 30 minute "lunch" break. 6 hours is a 15 and a lunch. I think it gets a little wobbly at lower hours. Many places intentionally schedule people part time at 5hours 30 minutes per shift to give them the fewest possible breaks.