Is it legal for a company to make a fulltime employee work through lunch breaks without pay?
Asked by Atlas shrugged
Let's say hypothetically that a worker is scheduled to work 9 hours per day / 45 hours per week. This hypothetical company's policy is for full time employees to get two 15 minute breaks per day as well as a half hour lunch. If the company is repetedly making an employee work through both breaks and lunch, yet is still deducting a half hour pay each day as if a lunch break was given, are they violating any U.S. labor laws?

Best Answer:
Yes they are. No question about it. You are actually supposed to get paid time-and-a-half for the hours you work OVER 40 hours in a week, and you should be able to take you breaks.

their paperwork says your taking your breaks. If you want to work during your breaks, thats your business, the company is not going to supervise you during your lunch to ensure your NOT working. Its your job to take breaks
Answered by Love Canada

You better believe it. You are entitled to the breaks acording to the Federal Labor Laws. If your employer is forcing you to work through these breaks, I would suggest the following: 1. Start looking for a new job - there is a good chance that you will lose your job if you try to force the issue. 2. Talk to your supervisor - let them know you are not getting the breaks. 3. If the super does nothing, contact your local labor board. This will more than likely do nothing for you, but it will at least start the investigatin process and ease things for others in the future. In todays workforce there is too much competition. Unemployment is at an all time high, and people are fighting to survive. I know it is wrong for the company to do this, but it is one method some companies use to "thin out' the flock. They keep the ones than work without complaint, and they find ways to let the ones who make waves go. Approach this situation with caution. If you choose to report them, be sure to have another job lined up
Answered by Basil M

Employees must be paid for all time worked. If the employee works through his/her lunch break, he/she must be paid for that time. Unless the employee is exempt. In most states there is no law regarding providing breaks, but there are laws in all states about paying for actual time worked. Check with your state's department of labor website.
Answered by leysarob

If you are a salaried exempt employee, you are technically "on the clock" 24/7 and can skip lunch, breaks, weekends, and sleep at the direction of the company. If you are hourly, the company is violating wage and hour laws. Visit www.dol.gov to find a dept of labor office near you, to find info on wage and hour laws (including required meal and rest periods for your industry), and to find info on filing a claim. The DoL will file the claim on your behalf, for free - if your employer is found guilty, you should be entitled to back pay. Good luck.
Answered by Mel