Arizona Lunch and Break Law

July 27th, 2006 Posted by Sarah

Recently, I’ve been reviewing the state laws related to lunches, breaks and other work hour issues. It may be of interest to note that Arizona does not have any specific state laws on the books related to meal or rest breaks for workers in that state.

Even though it is the case that Arizona does not have any specific state laws, there are several applicable federal regulations. Federal Law does not mandate specific breaks or meal periods, but it does give guidance as to whether or not an employee should be paid during these times. Short breaks, those that are usually 20 minutes or less, should be counted as hours worked. True “meal periods” are usually 30 minutes or more, and do not need to be paid as work time. For this to be the case, however, the worker must be completely relieved of his or her duties during the meal break. If the employee is still required to do any duties (even minor or occasional tasks), it can’t be considered a meal or lunch period and must be paid.

Federal law also contains other regulations related to employee pay during times of waiting, sleeping and traveling. Whether or not waiting time needs to be considered paid work hours depends on the situation. If an employee is allowed to do something of his or her choosing while waiting for another task to be finished or while waiting at the workplace for his or her services to be called upon, it is generally considered work time. On the other hand, if an employee is waiting to be called upon, but has great freedom to do what he or she wishes while on call (and has plenty of time to respond to the call), it is not generally considered paid work time.

When it comes to sleeping time, employees required to be on duty less than 24 hours is considered to be “working” even if he or she is permitted to sleep during some of those hours when not busy. If an employee is on duty more than 24 hours, a sleeping period of no more than eight hours may be deducted from work hours. However, this can only be done if sleeping quarters are provided and at least five hours of uninterrupted sleep may be achieved by the employee.

Finally, another issue I think people may find of interest in the area of work hours is the issue of travel time. The general rule of thumb is that time spent in the normal day’s commute to and from work is not considered paid working time. However, if an employee is traveling in the course of a days work, it must be considered paid work time.

Complete information on the laws related to lunches, breaks and other pertinent labor issues can be found on the Arizona Complete Labor Law Poster.

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Posted in Arizona, Employment Laws, Wage and Hour

  1. Posted by: anthony

    My company (a box plant) has two departments, converting and corrugating. Converting has 7 machine centers while corrugating has one. Converting has 3 shifts, corrugating has 2. In an 8 hour shift all employees are granted breaks every two hours. The first break is 20 minutes and the next two breaks are 10 minutes each. Management allows the Converting dept to take breaks every 2 hours but the Corrugating dept is not allowed to take breaks at a scheduled time. We are told to take breaks when we can because we must keep the machine running constantly. When hired I was never told this and I got put on the Corrugating side. In the winter it is still easily 95 degrees while in the summer it is about 115 degrees on average. Some areas get to 140 degrees in hot weather and we only have 1 working swamp cooler. Sometimes breaks dont come or not till you are about to pass out. Not only are the breaks a problem but mgmt has deleted positions on my crew and we have to pick up the slack. The machine has many issues from safety to broken parts. We have adapted to the situation the best we can and get through it but is it legal for the company to do this? Give breaks to some workers and not to others?

  2. Posted by: Amelia

    Hi Anthony — Yes, it’s legal for the company to give breaks to some employees and not to others. That’s because there is a valid business reason for the difference — the Corrugating line can’t be shut down. (Presumably, you are being paid for your breaks.) The heat is a different issue. OSHA regulations require that employers take special precautions when workers are in high temperatures. Among them is making water available at all times, and allowing workers to take more frequent breaks. You may want to contact OSHA to see if their standards for your industry are being met. For complete answers to your HR questions, post them at our sister site, http://www.laborlawtalk.com. Thanks for reading our blog! Amelia

  3. Posted by: Mary

    I work in a retail establishment where staff work 7 hour days with a brief 15 minute paid break for lunch. If it gets busy we are expected to stop our lunch and return to work. Recently we have been told that if we want lunch we will need to clock out for the time we take to eat. Is this legal? Are employers in Arizona allowed to make employees work for 7 hour without any paid breaks?

  4. Posted by: Amelia

    Hi Mary! Nineteen U.S. states have laws that require the employer to give a meal break to workers. Thirty-one U.S. states do not have such a law. Guess which category Arizona falls into? That’s right…Arizona does not require that employers give a meal break to employees, regardless of the length of the shift. An Arizona employer could require that employees work 18 hours per day, every day, without a meal break.

    However, this employer is offering a meal break to employees, even though there is no law that requires them to do so. This is not only legal, it is quite generous. The employer could require that every employee clock out for a 30-minute meal break. Instead, the employer is generously giving workers the option to take an unpaid meal break or not take one.

    Even in states that require meal breaks, they are usually unpaid. Under federal law, a break that is shorter than 20 minutes must be paid, but a meal break that is 20 minutes or longer can be unpaid. It seems to us that the employer is acting in a fair, honest and ethical manner. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia

  5. Posted by: Sarah

    Hello, I work at home from the state of Maine, however the company I work for is based in Arizona. I am Scheduled to work for 8 hours a day and they say they expect me to work all 8 hours with out a lunch break. If I would like a lunch break then I must start working half an hour earlier. In the state of Maine if you work at least 6 hours then you are given a 30 min break. In
    Arizona they appear to have no laws that mandate lunch breaks. Do I have to go by Arizona laws or Maine laws?

  6. Posted by: Amelia

    Hi Sarah! It doesn’t really matter whether you are a Maine employee or an Arizona employee, because in your case the result is the same.

    Maine law states that employees will be given a lunch break after 6 hours. However, that break can be unpaid and the law applies only to work locations where there are 3 or more workers. Since you are working alone, it does not apply to you.

    The solution is for you to start work half an hour earlier, and take a 30-minute unpaid meal break after 6 hours (or at the time of your choice). Then you will get your break and your employer will be satisfied with your performance. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~Amelia

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