Tennessee Lunch and Break Law

August 7th, 2006 Posted by Sarah

In researching state laws on the topic of lunches and breaks, I learned that Tennessee is one of a handful states that has a specific law mandating meal breaks for employees in the state. If a Tennessee employee has worked at least six consecutively in a given day, he or she must be given a 30 minute unpaid break.

For this break to qualify as unpaid, the worker must be completely relieved of his or her duties. If an employee must do any of his or her work duties during this break, it cannot qualify as an unpaid break. This statute applies to all workers of all ages. The Tennessee state law also mandates that this break not take place during or before the first hour of an employee’s shift.

The only exception written into the law is for workers who have ample opportunity during their work day to “rest or take appropriate breaks.” All other employers must give this break according to the law. Violation of this Tennessee law is considered a Class B misdemeanor. A fine of at least $100 but not more than $500 can be given to employers for each violation of the law. A civil penalty of between $500 and $1000 can also be imposed at the discretion of the Labor Commissioner if the violation is found to be willful.

Tennessee law does not provide for any other breaks during the workday other than this 30 minute unpaid meal period. However, if employers plan 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 helpful presentation of laws on this topic, as well as all other labor issues, can be found on the Tennessee Complete Labor Law Poster.

Last 10 posts by Sarah

« South Dakota Lunch and Break Law
Texas Lunch and Break Law »
Posted in Employment Laws, Tennessee, Wage and Hour

  1. Posted by: Patrick B.

    If my employer does not give me a lunch break during both 8 hour and 11 hour work days, what can I do to make sure that they will allow lunch breaks in the future?

  2. Posted by: Amelia

    Hi Patrick! That’s a great question! For a complete answer, please post it on our sister site at http://www.laborlawtalk.com. And thanks for reading the blog! Amelia

  3. Posted by: patrick

    If I do not want to take a lunch is ther any way to get out of it. Such as signing a waiver of some sort. I would rather work an 8 hour shift and just leave.

  4. Posted by: Amelia

    Hi patrick! Apparently not. Tennessee law requires that employers give each employee who works a shift of 6 consecutive hours or more, a meal break of 30 minutes. The meal break can be unpaid.

    Some states permit employees to sign waivers stating that the employee does not want a break. Tennessee does not.

    There is one loophole in the law. Tennessee permits an employer to skip the meal break if the nature of the work permits an employee to take frequent shorter breaks. For example, if the employee works in a convenience store, they can take a break any time there are not customers. That would usually permit frequent breaks during the day.

    However, there is no law that the Tennessee employer MUST permit an employee to work without a break, if the employee wants to. Most employers do require that employees take unpaid meal breaks, and they can discipline or terminate any employee who does not. For more info, you can post your questions on our sister site at http://www.laborlawtalk.com. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia

  5. Posted by: Sandy

    I was required to go to work for a 15 minute team meeting two times.
    The first time was my day off, the second time I was schedlued to work that day but 4 hours after the meeting, Some one told me that Tennessee laws requier a employer to pay a employee for 3 hours of work time even if I was there for only 15 minutes is this correct?

  6. Posted by: Amelia

    Hi Sandy! Sorry, but Tennesee has no such law. A few states do, but Tennessee is not one of them. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia

  7. Posted by: Ruth

    A friend of mine just lost his job for smoking. He was in an area that was not posted as a no smoking area. he had worked for the company 13 years and always smoked in the same area. Is he entitled to his unemployment?
    The company he worked for never gave him a lunch break or a break for 8-10 hr. working days 6 days a week. Does this put them in violation of the Tennessee Labor Law?

  8. Posted by: Amelia

    Hi Ruth! We’ll take the easy question first. Yes, under Tennessee law, every employee working 6 or more consecutive hours is entitled to a 30-minute meal break. The break may be unpaid. Your friend should report this violation to the Tennessee Division of Labor Standards at 866-588-6814.
    Frankly, we find it unlikely that your friend was unaware that the employer did not permit smoking in the area. (And, unless the area was his work station, if he had no breaks, then he was obviously taking unauthorized time away from work.) In Tennessee, as in many states, smoking is prohibited by law in all enclosed public spaces. The employee should assume that every workplace area (even outdoors) is a non-smoking area, unless he has specifically been told he may smoke there.
    There is no federal or Tennessee law that protects the employee’s right to smoke at work. Many employers note in their employee handbook that smoking is not permitted on the premises, or tell employees this during orientation.
    But even if that is not the case, Tennessee is an employment-at-will state, meaning the employer can fire any worker at any time, without notice, for any reason or for no reason. So the employer could fire him for being away from his work station, taking an unauthorized break, or smoking in a no-smoking area — even if the area was not posted. The employer could also fire him for no reason at all, and it would be lawful.
    If your friend genuinely had never been told that smoking was prohibited in the area, then he may be able to collect unemployment. However, we think it is more likely that he had been told no smoking was permitted, but because he got away with it for 13 years, he thought he would get away with it forever. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia

RELATED LINKS

Subscribe to RSS

Subscribe to this blog via email
Delivered by FeedBurner
add