Ruling Reminds Employers of Law Governing Employee Breaks

A recent decision from a federal appeals court is a warning to employers to make sure their policies follow the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), according to legal experts. The act entitles workers to be paid for breaks of 20 minutes or less.

The ruling relates to a Pennsylvania case in which a firm that publishes, distributes and sells business publications introduced a policy that paid salespeople only for the time in which they were logged onto their workstation computers. Salespeople earned an hourly wage and bonuses based on sales per hour.

The ruling from the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said that the FLSA does not require employers to provide employees with breaks, but “if an employer chooses to provide short breaks of five to 20 minutes, the employer is required to compensate employees for such breaks as hours worked.”

The U.S. Labor Secretary filed the suit against the company alleging in part that its owner failed to pay the federal minimum wage. An attorney familiar with the case said the break time issue became relevant because, if the salespeople were not paid for breaks, their hourly rate fell below the line.

The attorney said the issue was “whether these guys were making the minimum wage because these folks were working a couple hours a week, and if they’re not being paid for that 20-minute time, then their hourly rate may fall below the minimum wage, and that is a Fair Labor Standards Act violation.” 

The opinion issued by the court said that the DOL “has explicitly and repeatedly stated that employees must be paid for breaks of twenty minutes or less.”

The attorney said “the big overarching takeaway is that when it comes to breaks short and long, have policies, make sure the policies follow the law, and make sure your employees and your managers understand those policies.”      Source: Business Insurance