The Rules and Regulations of Lunch Breaks in Florida
In the fast-paced world of the Florida workplace, employees and employers alike should have a strong understanding of the lunch break laws that govern the state. These laws help ensure that breaks are provided fairly and consistently, helping to avoid potential conflicts and confusion. The issue of what breaks are required to be provided during the workday is a common point of contention in the employer-employee relationship. It is vital for both sides to know their rights and the obligations of the other as they pertain to workplace meal periods. The array of lunch break laws can be confusing, and circumstances often vary from one employee to the next. For example, while exempt workers (those not covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act), may not be entitled to lunch breaks, non-exempt workers are guaranteed a lunch period of 30 minutes for each shift that lasts longer than five hours . This applies to most occupations in the state of Florida. Other workers who are covered by collective bargaining agreements may negotiate other provisions with their union representatives, subject to the terms of those agreements, but general practices apply to most hourly non-exempt workers in the state. The law does not specify when a worker must take a meal break during their shift, so there is some flexibility in how to implement meal breaks. However, breaks that last less than 20 minutes cannot be deducted from the employee’s pay. Time off for rest breaks which exceed 20 minutes can be deducted from an employee’s pay. Nevertheless, many employers prefer to provide longer meal break periods in order to keep their employees more productive in the long run.
Workplace Rights for Florida Employees
Regarding Lunches
Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, an employer does not have to provide meal breaks. However, if a meal break is provided, it must be at least 30 minutes long. If the employer takes any action that prevents or inhibits its employees from eating during this time, then the unpaid meal period can be converted into an additional hourly wage at the employee’s regular rate of pay. In addition, in Florida, an employee working more than five continuous hours must be awarded a 30-minute lunch break.
Regardless of federal law, Florida state law is very clear that employers must provide an unpaid 30-minute lunch break to certain employees. Any employee who works more than five (5) continuous hours in a day (with the exception of employees covered by collective bargaining agreements and those who request to work through their meal period), must receive at a minimum, a 30-minute unpaid meal break during the employee’s work shift. The employee must be completely relieved of his or her duty for the entire 30 minutes in order for the break to qualify as an unpaid meal incentive. The employee is free to leave the premises, and in fact is expected to do so.
One area where Florida employment law differs from federal law is the approach to employees who are exempt from the FLSA, such as managers and supervisors. In some parts of the country, exempt employees may be required to take an unpaid meal break. In Florida, there are no such requirements for exempt employees. Employers may schedule an unpaid meal period for exempt employees, as long as the employee takes advantage of a full 30 minutes of uninterrupted time away from the worksite.
Employers’ Obligations and Compliance
Employers are not required to provide lunch breaks to their employees. However, if they do, then, they must comply with the law in doing so. In Florida, there are several potential sources of law that may apply to an employer which has a policy of providing unpaid lunch breaks to its employees.
One of the most potentially relevant sources of law is the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Under this wage and hour law, an employer must compensate its employees for all hours that they are permitted or suffered to work. So, if an employer provides employees an unpaid lunch break, the employer must ensure that the employees actually receive the full 30 or 60 consecutive minutes of uninterrupted time away from the performance of their work duties. If the employer requires or otherwise suffers any work during the break, then the employees must be compensated for all work performed. However, that does not mean that all interruptions of the break will cause the employer to pay the employees for the full time of the missed break period. Many factors would be taken into consideration by the Federal Department of Labor or the courts when evaluating the employer’s alleged duty to pay for work performed during a break period.
From a state law perspective, Florida employers must pay careful attention to the rules promulgated by the Florida Department of Labor. Under Florida Administrative Code 60L-32.0021, an employer has some flexibility in how it handles lunch breaks for employees. Specifically, an appropriate "rest period" is three (3) hours or less in duration. An appropriate "meal period" is any time period greater than three (3) hours in duration. In accordance with the Rule 60L-32.0021, if rest periods of less than 20 minutes are taken, such breaks may be used to shorten the "workday" of the employee without affecting pay. However, if the rest period is longer than 20 minutes, the employer must pay the employee for each minute of the rest period. The Rule also provides more strict requirements for meal periods. Employers do not need to pay employees for a meal period of greater than 60 minutes where the employee is relieved of all work duties if the employee is completely free from all work-related duties during the lunch break (the nature of the employee’s work duties are still a potential issue in evaluating compliance with the Rule).
In addition to the Federal FLSA and Florida’s Rest Period Rule, employers will also need to consider any applicable local wage and hour laws that regulate meal and/or rest periods. In Florida, only Miami-Dade County has such a local law. Miami-Dade County requires employers to provide employees a 30-minute paid rest period no later than 4 hours after employees commence working. In addition, the County requires employers to provide employees a 30-minute paid break no later than 5 hours after employees commence their work. County employers are prohibited from requiring employees to remain on duty during the paid break periods.
The proposed Fort Lauderdale ordinance providing employee meal and rest breaks has been withdrawn for further study. If passed in the future, the Fort Lauderdale ordinance would have required employers to provide employees a 15-minute paid rest period after every four hours of consecutive work, required employers to provide one 30-minute unpaid meal break per work shift, and prohibited employers from mandating that employees remain on duty during any break period. If enacted, the Fort Lauderdale ordinance would have applied to most private sector employers in Fort Lauderdale exempting only certain employers who maintain residential, agricultural, and/or manufacturing operations in the City.
An employer’s failure to comply with the Federal FLSA and/or Florida’s Rest Period Rule could have significant legal and financial consequences. Non-compliance with the FLSA could result in civil and/or criminal liability for the employer and its officers, managers, directors, agents, and supervisors. Penalties for these violations range from the payment of back-pay, to liquidated damages, to penalties in the tens of thousands of dollars, to jail time depending on the nature and extent of the FLSA violations. Non-compliance with the Florida Rest Period Rule could result in fines being imposed by the Florida Department of Labor. Florida employers will also likely face significant, often hard-to-get-around, class action lawsuits brought on behalf of putative classes of employees claiming violations of federal and/or state wage and hour law.
Exemptions and Special Circumstances
When it comes to lunch breaks in Florida, certain exceptions and special cases apply that are important to understand. For employees in the retail industry, breaks may differ based on store hours or shifts. Consider for instance a supermarket that opens at 6 a.m. and closes at 10 p.m. Under typical circumstances, a full workday presents the challenge of maintaining adequate staff levels at all times while also allowing for mandated break times. Employers will need to determine how many staff members are required to keep the store running and how to stagger break times to ensure the business continues to function normally. Therefore, employees who are required to work early morning, night, or premium holiday hours may be assigned longer lunch breaks.
In addition to exceptions in the retail industry, some specific job roles may not typically receive a 30-minute break. When employees hold roles such as waitstaff, bartenders, hairdressers, and other positions in the service industry, for example, short breaks are often determined by the employer and are not regulated by the law. This is typically true when the employee shares in tips. Because such workers are usually scheduled based on the anticipated amount of business, short breaks are offered based on the needs of the business instead of the schedule. In many cases, tipped employees do receive a 30-minute break, thereby offering a standard benefit amongst employees at all levels.
Employers who hold workers to exceptionally demanding schedules while still providing standard break times risk facing legal action from their employees. In cutting into time that should be spent resting and recuperating, workers are less likely to feel that their worth is respected by their employer. Business owners who encourage a heavy workload without the proper breaks may even expose their enterprises to liability in personal injury lawsuits or unfair and deceptive trade practices lawsuits if employees find themselves overworked to such an extent that they are contributing to their own exhaustion behind the wheel. The bottom line is that when breaking down the intricacies of the law, most employers will find that these rules are designed to protect both parties.
Comparison with Federal Guidelines
Federal law is not as prescriptive about lunch breaks as Florida law. The only federal laws governing meal breaks or rest breaks are the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) regulations on employee safety. This is subject to some exceptions based upon industry and application.
The FLSA contains no provision requiring private-sector employers to provide lunch breaks. However, if lunch breaks or any breaks are provided, they may only be unpaid if they last for a full 30 minutes and are designed to keep the worker from spending time on work duties . So, if the employer sets aside 30 minutes for lunch breaks and particularly if employees must remain on the employer’s premises during that break but are relieved of work duties, that generally may be unpaid, though any remaining work performed during that 30-minute period must be compensated.
OSHA provides separate guidelines for rest breaks related to employee safety. In particular, those guidelines relate to workers who operate heavy machinery, work in warehouses and storage facilities, and work outdoors. They require that workers be given regular breaks to keep them from becoming fatigued and losing attention while they perform their assigned tasks. These breaks can be short in duration and do not require payment. However, they do require that the employer compensate the worker for any time it takes to walk to and back from the break area.
How to Tackle Lunch Break Violations
An employee who believes that his or her right to a lunch break has been violated will have certain options if they choose to raise the matter. First, the employee may contact his or her employer to raise the issue of improper pay (i.e. being paid for fewer hours worked than are shown on the timecard). This step is often enough to resolve the issue and allow the employee to receive appropriate compensation.
If the voluntary approach does not produce an adequate result, however, then there are other options to pursue. For example, the employee may file a charge under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) if he or she was not paid during the break. This is distinct from a missed break (which is technically not unlawful under the FLSA), but instead focuses on the lack of compensation. The employee may then file suit to receive double damages, as well as attorneys’ fees. Similarly, an employee may be able to file a charge under the applicable state law: Florida state labor laws allow employees the right to sue their employer in cases of unpaid wages, including missed breaks. Note that under the Florida Minimum Wage Act (FMWA), employees can receive a doubling of their pay in the event of a missed or inadequate break. Regardless of whether the employee attempts to resolve the matter with his or her employer directly, or pursues a legal action, failure to provide adequate time for meal periods could lead to serious legal consequences for the employer. This is true if the employer deprived the employee of time for meals, in which case the employer must pay the employee for the missed break, and if the employer cancels a break that was agreed to and provides no alternative, in which case the employer must also pay the employee for that "missed" break.
Recent Developments and What’s Next
The debate surrounding lunch break law requirements in Florida is ongoing, and there have been recent developments that could affect both workers and employers. For example, a lawsuit was filed by a non-profit organization accusing the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity of failing to properly monitor government agencies and intervene when they violate labor laws. The case is still moving forward, and it is unclear how it will affect the interpretation of Florida lunch break laws.
Though this current lawsuit is heavily focused on the actions of government entities , a positive resolution could pave the way to further intervention into businesses or industries that do not uphold break hour requirements. As such, both employers and employees should continue to remain apprised of movements within the courts regarding lunch break law in Florida.
It is entirely possible that there may be additional break hour requirements added to Florida labor regulations in the years to come, and workers and employers alike should be aware of the changes that could impact them. For the time being, however, the most important issue when it comes to lunch hours for Florida employees is that you know your rights and the requirements for your employers.