Breaks for employees

I work at a sears store in CT. I don't really understand how the break system works. Do you get a lunch break when you work over 5 hours? When do you get a lunch break and a 15 minute break? When do you get two 15 minute breaks and a lunch break?

please ask your manager about it as the break rules may vary from state to state.

In our state (Ohio) if you work 5 hours and 15 min, you have to take a lunch. you are entitled to (1) 15 min. break persiod within a working period under 5 hours 15 min.

last i knew it was 4 hours = 1, 15 min. 5 hours = 1, 15 min & 1, 30 min. u should get 1, 15 min for every 4 hours worked.

Confused Worker in Cheshire, Connecticut said: I work at a sears store in CT. I don't really understand how the break system works. Do you get a lunch break when you work over 5 hours? When do you get a lunch break and a 15 minute break? When do you get two 15 minute breaks and a lunch break?

I have been in Human resources over 15 years. I have supervised for the same period of time. According to the Federal Labor Standards Act, you are supposed to get a 15 minute break after 4 hours of work. That is Federal. It should not be different from state to state.

Confused Worker in Cheshire, Connecticut said: I work at a sears store in CT. I don't really understand how the break system works. Do you get a lunch break when you work over 5 hours? When do you get a lunch break and a 15 minute break? When do you get two 15 minute breaks and a lunch break?

the way they work is you ger a 15 min break if u work for 4 hours or more, you get a 30min lunch break if you work for 5 hours and 15 mins. you get a break and a lunch if u work for more than 6 hours. and finaly anything over 7 hours is one lunch and 2 fifteen min breaks. now thats in wisconsin. hope it helps

you can prob. find the break laws on line.. i thought in Ca. it was after 4 hours 10 min if you worked 8 hours you were allowed an hour and two 10 min breaks.. after 8 hours you were allowed overtime.. It used to be 40 hours a week you were able to get over time now its 8 hours in one day. Though there is stipulations for that.. if you make more than a certain amount the overtime pay doesn't effect you.

Brent in Lima, Ohio said: In our state (Ohio) if you work 5 hours and 15 min, you have to take a lunch. you are entitled to (1) 15 min. break persiod within a working period under 5 hours 15 min.

Ohio law only mandates breaks and lunch periods for minors. Federal law mandates that non-exempt employees must be payed for short breaks, and that employers are not required to pay workers for meal breaks. However, I don't believe federal law mandates those breaks be given.

Joseph in Dayton, Ohio said: Ohio law only mandates breaks and lunch periods for minors. Federal law mandates that non-exempt employees must be payed for short breaks, and that employers are not required to pay workers for meal breaks. However, I don't believe federal law mandates those breaks be given.

This is very true, in Ohio, if you are over the age of 16, your employer does not, by any law, have to give you either a break or a lunch. The company I work for has decided that when we had a 15 minute break along with our half hour lunch we were not as productive as they would have liked. Their answer was take away our 15 minute break, there was also discussion about taking away our 30 minute lunch as well. Legally they can do that.

Taken from: www.dol.gov/esa/whd/flsa/faq.htm

When must breaks and meal periods be given?

The FLSA does not require breaks or meal periods be given to workers. Some states may have requirements for breaks or meal periods. If you work in a state which does not require breaks or meal periods, these benefits are a matter of agreement between the employer and the employee (or the employee's representative).

Try this for State Listings:

www.dol.gov/esa/programs/whd/state/rest.htm

Employers do what they want to do and ignore the laws.

Lisa in Paris, Texas said: I have been in Human resources over 15 years. I have supervised for the same period of time. According to the Federal Labor Standards Act, you are supposed to get a 15 minute break after 4 hours of work. That is Federal. It should not be different from state to state.

If you work in Human Resources you'd better watch out, especially if you are a long time employee. Sears is firing everyone who they can so they can replace them with cheap labor. They are not worried because all the heat is on Walmart. Eddie Lambert cares about one thing, his real estate empire. He is playing a shell game with all the Sears and Kmart real estate. Watch out, it's the next Enron and Tyco.

Lisa in Paris, Texas said: I have been in Human resources over 15 years. I have supervised for the same period of time. According to the Federal Labor Standards Act, you are supposed to get a 15 minute break after 4 hours of work. That is Federal. It should not be different from state to state.

Well, Lisa, you have been mistaken for 15 years because Federal Law does NOT require companies to provide lunch breaks or other breaks; however, there are some states that have their own laws regarding this.
With the exception of Oregon, and only sometimes in Oregon, NO state requires 2x15 min. breaks; although, there are 5 or 6 states which require 10 min. for each 4 hrs. worked.

Lisa,
If you have been in HR for 15 years you better make sure you are not in debt and are ready to look for another job. Sears is firing long term employees people right and left,and not giving any severence pay. Beware of your next review. All the sudden, employees with NO prior history of underperformance are given bad reviews, next they fire you. Take this as a "heads up". Eddie Lambert and the asleep at the wheel board of directors are going to destroy the company.

Brent in Lima, Ohio said: In our state (Ohio) if you work 5 hours and 15 min, you have to take a lunch. you are entitled to (1) 15 min. break persiod within a working period under 5 hours 15 min.

Where did you find this information, I was denied a lunch break at all in a 12.5 hr shift and everything I pull says that Ohio employers do not have to give a lunch break by law. I was thinking along the lines you have quoted, but I can not find the information to back my statement.

I've been working at sears for over 4 months and have been harrassed by non-management associates telling me I don't get a break even if I work 5 hours. The breaks are random and management does not monitor the breaks. I think this may cause for a lawsuit.

Jennifer:
In response to your comment, the federal gov. does not have a law in regards to breaks. They only can suggest to employers to give a break. I contacted my state's Department of Labor and was informed that they will follow the Companies policy. If the Company states that they will give you a break every 5 hours then the law will implement the Companies policy. You will need to look at the Employee's handbook and find out what it says. I am still trying to retrieve one from personnel.

Sears could care less about Federal and State laws or even common human decency. The new people they are hiring for slave wages are replacing long term employees that Sears didn't want to keep paying the higher wages and benefits for. There's a lawsuit for that too. But, it really doesn't matter because Sears is just a cash cow for billionaire Eddie Lampert and he is just milking it for all it's worth. NO ONE SHOULD COUNT ON SEARS FOR THE LONG TERM. FIND ANOTHER JOB BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE.

tonya beth in Stone Mountain, Georgia said: Sears could care less about Federal and State laws or even common human decency.QUOTE]

I hear so many stories from my friends and family of their employers (not necessarily people working at Sears) not allowing breaks even when they are mandated by state law.

The fact of reality is that so many companies don't care what the "Federal and State Laws" say or what they require. They know that they can take advantage of a lot of workers that don't want to/can't speak up for themselves so they don't take these "Break Laws" seriously.

It's up to the employee to have the balls and speak up to their employer and demand a break when they feel like a State/Fed or whatever type of law is being violated.

Go to your state web site, and they will have the labor laws posted, for your area.

Eddie are you sleep? Your company is sinking! Learn to swim....

California has strict laws on breaks and lunchs. All my employers are diligent to follow the rules including sears. If you work more than 5 hours you are required to take at least a 30 minute lunch break.

At our store, if you work 5 hours or more, you are required to punch out for at least 30 minutes, no less. Anything under that you are entitled to one 15 minute break. If you work 8 hours you receive one half hour lunch break and one 15 minute break. If you work 9+ hours for the day, you may take an hour lunch break and two 15 minute breaks. But you know that varies from person to person, not everyone follows the rules haha

I'm not sure how things work in OH compared to WV, but here Sears would have been in big trouble for not giving you at least a half hour break. Here they tell us we HAVE to punch out before the 5 hour mark is up, or they get in trouble, labor-wise but not sure if that's true...but that's what we're all told.

I think it all depends on the store. Some people get their breaks with no problem while others have to wait almost seven hours into their eight hours of work to get a break. If you don't get a break because their is no one to cover, then you get a write up. Like its your fault to begin with.

u have to wait for someone to cover u in order for u to go on break, if there are ppl that call out u probaly wont go on ur 15