Human Resource Blog

Meals after 6 hours: Is it a big thing?

	Compensation
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I worked for a company for two years and a week.
Often, I worked more than 6 hours on busy days without a break. Sometimes I worked up to 12 hours with only one meal break. The I returned to work after being off only 6 hours. They told me that it wouldn’t matter because the cut off for that week was the day I stayed for 12 hours. Shouldn’t it be 10 hours in between shifts, because I felt that they didn’t care so long as the shift was covered? I would like to know what to do about it because later down the months the manager were saying that we had to take our lunches by the fifth hour or the store gets fined.

The break laws vary a great deal from state to state. For example, California has very strict break laws, while Florida has none at all. So, there’s no way to answer this question without knowing what state you are in.

 

 

No breaks are required under federal laws. Employers can require workers to work 12 hours or more, without any meal or rest breaks, in most states. OSHA regulations require that employees be allowed to use the bathroom, but does not require any other breaks, in most occupations.

 

Only a few states set limits on the length of time between shifts. In most states, an employer could require that a worker who gets off at midnight report back to work at 4 am. We are not recommending these labor practices – we’re just noting that they are legal in most states.

Please post another question with the state, for a more specific answer.