We have a call center, and we’re wondering how much flexibility we have in scheduling meal breaks. If we have to make sure employees have their meal break before working more than five hours, that’s a pretty tight fit for us. What can we do to ensure adequate coverage while people take breaks?
Paying Overtime: 10 Key Exemption Concepts
Only one thing really matters in the determination as to whether or not an employee is exempt: The duties the employee performs. Learn how to avoid costly, preventable mistakes with our free White Paper, Paying Overtime: 10 Key Exemption Concepts.
Labor Code Section 512 and the Wage Orders state that “an employer may not employ an employee for a work period of more than five hours per day without providing the employee with a meal period of not less than 30 minutes.” The state Division of Labor Standards Enforcement interprets this language as a timing requirement and enforces it rigidly. A way to provide continuous coverage is to stagger the meal period and/or the start time at the beginning of the day. However, you must make sure that the meal period begins prior to the start of that sixth hour. For example, if you have to schedule meal breaks between noon and 1:00 p.m., you could send the first group out at noon and the second group out at 12:45 p.m. The first group will return at 12:30 p.m., and the 12:45 p.m. people will be back at 1:15 p.m., which should minimize coverage problems. Another approach is to have a group start the day at 8:00 a.m. and another group start at 8:30 a.m. or even 9:00 a.m.
Marc Jacuzzi, Esq., is a shareholder at the South San Francisco law firm of Simpson, Garrity & Innes, PC.