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A break should be law-mandated, and it is in VERY FEW states: https://www.dol.gov/whd/state/rest.htm https://www.dol.gov/whd/state/rest.htm.
by why-el 9y ago
A break should be law-mandated, and it is in VERY FEW states: https://www.dol.gov/whd/state/rest.htm https://www.dol.gov/whd/state/rest.htm.
- 24gttghh 9y agoHoly shit. I thought that all states (federally) had mandatory regulations for at least unpaid rest breaks every certain number of hours worked, but this is horrifying. And only 20 states have mandatory lunch breaks! Even those aren't required to be paid. WTF. I've lived in two of those states my whole life so I just assumed everyone had that...
- why-el 9y agoYou are not alone. As an immigrant to the United States (coming from Europe where I built my career but originally from Africa), I can guarantee you that is a very popular conception. I continue to meet people who assume that their holidays are federally mandated for instance, but it is not the case. The US is alone among the developed world in this regard, and it is quite shameful.
- 5555624 9y agoThere are not paid breaks or lunch breaks in the federal government, either. On the other hands, smokers get breaks. The non-smokers in my office once took a single 30-45 minute "smoke break" on Fridays. Eventually, our supervisor's manager joined in, saying it made sense.
- 24gttghh 9y agoI mean paid or unpaid, people need to be given some kind (food, rest, or otherwise) of a break in a 6-8 hour period.
- DrScump 9y agoAnd even in those that do, it's not applicable when workers are under a collective bargaining agreement. Workers get only what the CBA provides for. I worked in a union shop in CA where there were no explicit breaks whatever for our 6.5-hour shift. We could generally get away here and there for bathroom breaks, get coffee, etc. because management wasn't populated by jerks... unlike management of this particular union local.