New Oregon Break Rules

The Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries or BOLI recently issued a new rule clarifying regulations on meal breaks in situations where it is impossible for an employee to be relieved of all duties.

Under the Oregon meal break law, employers must provide a meal break of 30 minutes or more to any employee who works more than 6 hours. Employees who work less than 6 hours are not entitled to a meal break.

Generally, the Oregon meal break must be at least 30 minutes long, and the employee must be relieved of all duties during that period. The meal break may be unpaid.

As in several other states, Oregon permits exceptions to meal breaks as part of a collective bargaining agreement, such as a union contract, as long as that agreement specifically addresses breaks.

Under the new regulations, if the nature of the work necessitates keeping the employee on-call during the meal period, a new rule applies. The new rule makes it clear that employees must still be provided with time to rest and eat a meal, even when the full 30-minute break is not possible.

There are 3 major exceptions to the Oregon meal break rules:

1)     An employer must pay the worker for the time worked, but under the new regulations, employers may provide a meal period of 20 minutes or more, relieved of all duty, where it has been established by “industry practice or custom.”

2)     An on-call paid meal break of 30-minutes or more is permitted, only when relieving the employees of all duties would impose an undue hardship on the employer’s business operations. A gas station attendant, for example, might routinely be scheduled to work alone. Hiring a second person would probably impose an undue hardship on the business operations. In those circumstances, the employee can take a paid 30-minute break during which he or she is on call.

3)     An employer may provide an on-call paid break if unforeseen equipment failures, acts of nature or other unanticipated circumstances preclude the employer from providing a meal break. However, these circumstances must occur rarely or temporarily, and cannot include deliberate understaffing by the employer.

Employees must still be permitted to eat a meal on duty or while on-call, if they are not given a 30-minute meal period free of all work duties.

Employers claiming an “undue hardship” exception under #2 above must still provide adequate time for employees to eat, use the restroom and rest. In addition, beginning March 16, 2009, these employers must notify employees via a form provided by BOLI.