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Lunch break / Rest Break

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mdennis

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? Alabama

I work for a financial institution, and wanted to know the minimum amout of time to be given for a lunch break. I was inder the impression that law required a 30 min. break for lunch and two 15 min. rest breaks (one in the morning and one in the afternoon) for an eight hour work day.


Thanks in advance for your advice.
 


Beth3

Senior Member
Actually, very few States require that an employer provide rest/meal breaks for employees 18 years of age and older. I can find nothing at Alabama's DOL site that indicates breaks must be provided. No federal laws require breaks either.

If you want to see if you can find anything in AL' reg's, the web site is: http://www.alalabor.state.al.us/
 

cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
Alabama law does not require breaks of any kind for adult employees. Employees who are under the age of 15 (yes, that's fifteen) are entitled to a 30 minute break after five hours of work.

Somehow or other a great many people got the idea that Federal law required a fifteen minute break morning and afternoon, as well as a lunch break. Federal law does not require ANY breaks. While there are rules an employer has to follow IF they offer breaks, nothing in Federal law requires ANY private employer to EVER offer ANY breaks at all.

At the state level, NO state requires a 15 minute break morning and afternoon for adult employees (ONE state requires fifteen minutes morning and afternoon for employees who are minors; six states require ten minutes morning and afternoon for adult employees.) Several states require breaks of various kinds for minors; a handful of states require meal breaks but not rest breaks of any kind; quite a few states require no breaks at all.
 

cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
IF they offer breaks, then a break of less than 20 minutes must be a paid break.

The DOL considers a 30 minute break to be sufficient as a meal break, and if the employee is completely relieved of duty the employee need not be paid for such a break.

But, as I said, under Federal law and the law of many states, including yours, breaks of any kind are voluntary on the part of the employer.
 

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