As an employee you have the right to a lunch break, right? Not necessarily.
You might be surprised to learn that the federal government doesn’t require employers to provide breaks for their employees. In fact, federal law doesn’t require any employer to provide their employees with meal breaks or breaks of any kind during the work day.
However, if an employer allows their employees to take breaks, federal law does require employers to pay for these shorter breaks. What’s considered a shorter break? Employees must be paid for breaks lasting from 5-20 minutes within the workday. An official unpaid meal break is anything that lasts for 30 minutes or longer, where the employee is relieved of their duties during this time.
So does your state have laws regarding meal breaks? Do you have to work through lunch NJ ?
These 20 states took it upon themselves to ensure that employees receive meal breaks and/or rest breaks.
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Illinois
- Kentucky
- Maine
- Massachusetts
- Minnesota
- Nebraska (certain industries)
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New York
- North Dakota
- Oregon
- Rhode Island
- Tennessee
- Vermont (reasonable opportunities for breaks)
- Washington
- West Virginia
While many states have specific laws regarding meal and/or rest breaks, NJ employee rights don’t require that employers provide either for their employees. Even though you may have to work through lunch in NJ, most companies acknowledge the importance of providing rest breaks and meal breaks for their employees. Employers understand that a happy, rested, and fed employee is far more productive than an employee who isn’t. A happy employee means a productive employee, and a better work environment for all.
If you think that your employee rights are being violated contact the Law Offices of Thomas More Holland to see if you have a claim!
Related Tags: Work Through Lunch NJ | Work Through Lunch New Jersey