Doesn't "correct this behavior" very directly imply that the current behavior (in this case, taking your full lunch break) is incorrect and therefore in need of correction, though?

It's one thing to suggest something, but calling it a "correction" changes things, I'd think.

Oh, man. She almost got through it, legally speaking, but she just couldn't hold herself back from saying "Let's correct this behavior" near the end! Fucking boomers (I'm assuming), nothing will keep them from speaking their minds...

NAL, but my understanding is that actually instructing a subordinate to return to work during their legal-mandated by OSHA "30-minute uninterrupted lunch break" is where they really have no excuse and the company is now liable...

Mastercardery & Visary processes too

Hello, Brenda. I have noticed that your mouth is often filled with strange looking hairs, possibly from all the rimming you give the boss. Let's correct this behavior for the family

So, if you get the lawyers involved, things could go very bad. BUT, I'll bet if you let enough labor lawyers read this, at least one of them will take the case under terms that you might want to accept.

IANAL, TINLA, but I agree with the other posters that this could be a violation of federal regulations. (But, there's a lot of details I cannot glean from the posting that could affect legality.)

I work in California. Some companies are so afraid of labor laws that they say if you talk shop during your break, the break timer must restart. You must take the entire break away from work related conversations.

I've never seen one of these where the company actually got named.

We had an HR person complaining to us that a group of us would leave the office every day and go out together to eat lunch.

Didn't complain that we spent too long eating. Just that we went out together for lunch every day....

Breaks might not be required, but you still aren't allowed to take a break from paying an employee while still making them work.

The issue isn't the 'never stop working' part, that sucks but isn't illegal. It's the 'stop paying but don't stop working' part that's a problem.

Dingleberry breath, gross

US Labor Law

HahahahahahHahahahahahahahah*wheeze*HAHHAHAHAHA

There are no US laws requiring work breaks. Less than 10 states edit: around 20 have laws that require one.

In the vast majority of states you could be asked to work a 16 hour shift with zero breaks entirely legally. Most employers do have break policies but it is not law.

Reply from state labor board: oh hey sorry yeah turns out there's no laws requiring breaks federally or in then vast majority of states. Maybe find a new job if you don't like it gl bro

About 20 states require breaks, that's all.

legal-mandated by OSHA "30-minute uninterrupted lunch break"

Not a thing. No US law requires work breaks. The majority of states don't either.

I'd expect there needs to be actual damages first. So you have to say no and then get fired, and then you have a case.

Though if it's heading that way, a lawyer may want to help you prep to seal the case as it's being made.

I've sat through a lot of depositions in employment cases, and the best thing a potential plaintiff can do is maintain documents and a timeline.

But yeah, this email by itself is nothing. Personally, a simple "Thanks, Brenda" would've been my response, because it leaves a lot to interpretation.

The US Department of Labor site lists 20 states and 2 territories.

https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/state/meal-breaks

Stop paying but don't stop working is literally what expecting someone to work through their break is.

Right you are, I was going on memory.

Though Maryland and Nebraska's laws only apply to a small portion of workers, and many more have broad exemptions.

Still gross.

30 minute unpaid (no work legally allowed to be done. if you are still expected to, say, answer calls, then you'd have to be paid for that time) lunch breaks are pretty standard here (I'm in Cincinnati, might be different in other parts of the state)

but there's absolutely nothing preventing the company from saying "nah you don't get a break today" unless they restrain THEMSELVES in THEIR policy that THEY write

(Except minors, they are legally required to have a 30 minute break if they work 5 hours or more)

No that's not a "safe" way to say this. It's a pretty god damn clear demand

All 50 states though require you are compensated for your work. So if this is a non-salary position still illegal if the break period is unpaid.

Additionally if his work contract garuntees the break period that still has legal standing

To render unto Ceasar... work is the second kost discussed topic during my theraoy sessions, right after family trauma.

Sounds like someone was jealous

The fact that you guys only have 30 minutes to eat is insane! We have 1:30 hours by law and It's barely enough time to go down, get something and eat. Even if you eat fast food (which we don't like) you won't be able to go there, buy, eat and be back in 30. You need a revolution!

Sure thing, Brenda! I'll be sure to invite my work family to lunch with me for the full allotted time so no one feels unsupported! Thank you for the idea!

Yeah well we can't all be French. I'm not saying it's a good thing, but 30 minutes is standard even in Europe.

This can't real

All 50 states though require you are compensated for your work. So if this is a non-salary position still illegal if the break period is unpaid.

True, however it isn't said in the photo that they should not clock back in.

work contract

Employment contracts are extremely rare or non-existent in the US.

If it is, I think it's illegal in the US at least. By law I think employers are required to give at least one 30 minute break a day.

Only in some states. There is no federal law mandating breaks or meals.

Employment contracts are extremely rare or non-existent in the US.

Not at all, very common for salary positions

I work salary and in my industry I've never heard of it. I'm sure they exist but I cannot imagine why any company would do it.

Maybe at executive levels?

They're talking like "bring food from home" is not an option. Do French people not have home kitchens and Tupperware?

Perhaps you are thinking of contract in too grand a scale, any basic employment agreement stating your hours and company rules is a contract.

30 is common, but I wouldn't say standard. An hour a day feels standard.

In office work, you usually get it all in one chunk, whereas if you work physically demanding or shift-based work, you get 15 minutes coffee break, then at lunch 30 minutes, then another 15 minutes later. This is true at least for all the western European countries.

Even here in Texas, I've learned that "let's correct this behavior" can be shown as evidence that you received threats of a personal improvement plan

All I want to add here is that I fell completeley in love with france over just two weeks working at a customer's site there.

Yeah but those are basically useless as they all contain the boilerplate that basically says that they can be changed at any time for any reason without notice. They don't bind the employer in any way.

Quite surprising that it's based on state law, rather than something that's mandated by the US Federal government. Employers being able to forbid their employees from having lunch unless their particular state, or medical requirements force their hand does not seem like a legal thing.

It does track, since the US was also one of the few countries that does not consider food to be a mandatory right (their official justification here), but still.

In Denmark, 30 minutes and catered food in a cafeteria is pretty standard. No one goes out to lunch.

I'd rather stick with 30 minutes and get off work early, mind you.

I don't find it surprising at all.

The whole idea of breaks during the work day came from early-day capitalists (check out Factory Act and how it came to be. And for those who don't want to/can't - it wasn't from the goodness of their hearts, they noticed that their workers were making too many costly mistakes, like getting themselves rolled into heavy machinery and dying, so they asked doctors to "figure this shit out". The Factory Act is the earliest iteration of what eventually became OSHA), some of whom showed at least a semblance of honour, and following the actual tenets of capitalism (giving back to the community).

It became the "everybody knows this" kind of thing.

Then times have changed. Today's capitalists are a bunch of babies with way too much power, who don't know how they came to be, or why the "gentleman rules" that were in place happened. All they see is that if someone takes a 30 minute break, they're not working for 30 minuts (making shareholders cry! :( ).

The federal government didn't need to mandate this, because "everybody did this anyway", and if one state was having issues, it mandated that on their own.

What I noticed is that often it's "30 minutes lunch with 7:30 of work time, for a total of 8 hours at work", or "1 hour lunch with 8 hours of work time, for a total of 9 hours at work".

Brenda is going to need new tires soon

At least in Finland the 30 minutes is meant to be 30 minutes sitting down and eating your food. If your place of work has a shared cafeteria people are meant to eat lunch in, getting from your desk to the cafeteria and back, and queueing for your food aren't meant to be part of the lunch break. Only the part you actually spend eating and thus properly on a break.

It's a bit of a spirit of the law thing, though the law is quite exact on the matter. Good luck trying to find an employer outside desk jobs who actually abide by it, though, as factory jobs are scheduled around 20 or 30 minute breaks and if you're not back at your line by then, production halts. Luckily that fact is typically compensated in the pay.

I'd assume other European countries with 30 minute lunch have a similar clause.

This is why I don’t goto Buc-ees when traveling. They only operate in states with little to no worker protection and they do not allow their employees to have any breaks. Yes they pay a few dollars more per hour but absolute abuse their employees. So as nice as their mega gas stations are , they will never get another dollar from me.

Man fuck that. If you bring something from home half an hour is perfectly fine. I can't imagine having to just wait an otherhour around so that I can finish my 8 hours. I want spent my time at home and not on break at work.

In Germany it's dependent on the work hours and type of physical activity, for me it's:
<6 hours, no break (for adults)
6-8 hours, 30 minutes break
8-10 hours, 45 minutes break
>10 hours, 1 hour
6-9 hours, 30 minutes
>9 hours, 45 minutes

With breaks being a minimum of 15 minutes at a time, and you're not allowed to work workout breaks for more than 6 hours at a time.
if you have a job where you have to concentrate a lot (assembly lines, bus/truck drivers, air traffic controllers) these times change a lot, sometimes down to like 1 hour maximum continuous work and then 15-30 minutes of break time.

EDIT: @zaphod@sopuli.xyz was right, Source (in German)