labor lawAdivision of labor law center

In researching current lunch and break laws in various states, I learned that Connecticut is one of 19 states that has a specific regulation in this area. If a Connecticut employee has worked at least seven and a half hours consecutively in a given day, he or she must be given a 30 minute unpaid break. The state law also states that this break should be at least two hours after the employee arrives at work, and at least two hours before the end of the work day. This meal break must allow the worker to be completely relieved of his or her duties.

I found it interesting that there are several exceptions to this general rule. The law does not apply to teachers or other professional employees that work directly with children in a school district setting. It also doesn’t apply in workplaces where a collective bargaining agreement sets out other arrangements. Exemptions may be granted in situations where public safety would be affected, where only one employee can do the job, where the nature of the business requires that employees be ready to respond at all times, or where five or fewer employees are on a shift at one time at a place of business. If an exemption is granted, employees may be given a paid, on-duty meal time.

Connecticut law does not specifically provide for any other breaks during the workday other than this 30 minute unpaid meal period. However, if employers do wish to give short breaks to workers during the day, Federal law states that these must be paid breaks if they are 20 minutes or less in length.

A complete presentation of federal and state laws related to lunches and breaks, as well as all other labor issues, can be found on the Connecticut Complete Labor Law Poster.

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1. Posted by: Bob Gilmore

   What are the exemptions that this law allows for and how is it determined which types of employers can use it? I am a retail salesperson who works on full commission. Our employers currently have a policy that allows employees to leave the store for lunches during the week but not on Saturdays. They also require that we be available for customer needs the entire time and are expected to interrupt our lunch break for this purpose.
   Are they legitimately within their rights to do this under an exemption?

   Thanks in advance for any help you might give.

2. Posted by: Amelia

   Hi Bob! There are a number of exceptions to the Connecticut break law. Most of these exceptions would not apply to employees in other states.

   Federal law dictates when employees must be paid for meal breaks. Any employer can require that an employee remain on the premises during his or her lunch break. If the break is uninterrupted and the employee is relieved of all work duties, then the employee need not be paid for the break, under federal law. However, these laws probably don’t apply to you, as a commissioned salesperson.

   Generally an employee who is still working or on call must be paid for his or her meal break, again, under federal law. A receptionist who must eat at her desk in case a customer walks in or phones must be paid for her meal break. However, there is a question whether this really applies in your case, again because you are a commissioned salesperson. As long as you are earning at least the minimum wage for all hour worked, including the interrupted meal breaks, you are being paid for this time.

   Often commissioned salespeople agree to lunch arrangements like this, because they don’t want to miss thier shot at a customer who is a big spender. But if you would rather have an uninterrupted lunch than a larger commission, that is probably your right.

   Under Connecticut law, most employees must receive a 30 minute meal break when they work 7.5 consecutive hours or more. The break must be after the first 2 hours of the shift and before the last 2 hours of the shift.

   When a break is interrupted, the employer is still in compliance with Connecticut law if the employee is permitted to take 30 or more total minutes of meal or rest breaks during the shift.

   In addition, Connecticut law permits exceptions to the break policy when there is a collective bargaining agreement in place, or the employee voluntarily agrees to a different meal break arrangement in writing. The law also permits an exception for a shift when there are fewer than 5 employees on a shift at a single place of business, or when the duites of a position can only be performed by one employee.

   Connecticut law also permits two exceptions that don’t apply to you: an exception for continuous operations under some conditions (as in convenience stores) or when breaks would interfere with public safety (as with police or firefighters.)

   If you feel that none of these exceptions apply to you, and you are being deprived of your breaks, you can report the employer to the Connecticut Department of Labor at http://www.ctdol.state.ct.us/ HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia