| POLICY NAME | POLICY NO. | APPROVING BODY | RESPONSIBLE DEPARTMENT |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meal & Rest Break Policy | BA433 | President/Cabinet | Business Affairs – Human Resources |
| EFFECTIVE DATE | VERSION NO. | REVISION/REVIEW DATE | DOWNLOAD PDF |
| 01-JUL-2024 | 01 | 12-SEP-2024 | BA433_Meal & Rest Break Policy |
PURPOSE:
The purpose of this policy is to allow reasonable times for employees to rest and/or eat a meal with the goal of preventing burnout and encouraging optimal productivity.
POLICY:
Meal Breaks
All non-exempt employees scheduled to work 6 or more consecutive hours are to be allowed a 30-minute meal break. This meal break will be unpaid except in the event that the work does not allow the employee to be relieved of all work-related duties for the entire 30 minutes, in which case the employee may remain ‘on the clock’ to eat a meal while performing said duties.
In the event that an employee’s ‘on-the-clock’ mealtimes may result in overtime hours being accrued, the supervisor must be notified so that either hours or duties may be redistributed as they deem reasonable.
*Example: If an administrative assistant must eat their lunch at their desk because there is no one else available to answer the telephone, they would remain on the clock. If their scheduled hours are from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm M-F, they must notify their supervisor because they could potentially earn .5 hours of overtime.
In the case that an employee is scheduled to work longer than 8 hours consecutively, their supervisor may choose to extend the meal break to 1 hour, unpaid.
*Example: If an employee who works in the Registrar’s Office is regularly scheduled to work from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm, their supervisor may choose to schedule their meal break for one hour.
Rest breaks:
All non-exempt employees are allowed an optional 15-minute rest break every 4 hours worked when duties permit. The 15-minute rest breaks may NOT be taken in conjunction with the meal breaks, nor at the beginning or end of the workday for the purpose of lengthening the meal break or shortening the workday.
*Examples:
An employee works from 8:00 am – 4:30 pm M-F during which time they are allowed 30 minutes for lunch and two 15-minute rest breaks. They want to leave early on Friday, so they save up their rest breaks and leave the office at 4pm. This violates policy.
An employee is scheduled to work at 7:00 am but they want to sleep in, so they arrive on the job at 7:30 am and inform their supervisor that they have taken their break early. This violates policy.
An employee is working on a challenging project and they feel they need a break, so they find a good stopping place, they ask their supervisor for approval, and they take a 15-minute walk around campus. This is appropriate.