Breaks

The best I can offer is you should check your current contract language and talk to your union steward/representative about what's happening.

1. Yep, in my experience most nursing jobs don't let the nurses leave the premises for lunch. The only place I've worked where you could leave at lunch was at a Drs office and that's because, the whole clinic shut down for lunch.

2. That's going to depend on your state and company policy. I don't think paid breaks are a legal requirement. Every place I've ever worked had different lunch/break policies. Some places had an unpaid lunch plus some paid breaks (1 or 2 breaks lasting 10 or 15 minutes) , other places only had an unpaid lunch break (30 minutes or 1 hour). I work at a residential group home now and I'm the only nurse, I have no scheduled breaks nor am I docked for an unpaid lunch. I can eat whenever I have the chance though.

3. That seems illegal to me too, I'd probably talk to someone about that.. I've worked at a job where we never got time to take a lunch, we were told repeatedly that we needed to take one but, there was no chance to. To my knowledge they never docked me for a lunch without my knowledge but, I never really paid that much attention to my check stub. I definitely will now though if I ever work a job where lunch is impossible to take..

Because you are talking about ratios are you in California? Here is a link that talks about California Law in regards to meal and rest breaks. Often times there is a culture in work places that perpetuates not speaking up against illegal employment practices because of fear of retailiation. Even within one institution there can be nursing units where staff "work for free" and other units where staff would never think of doing so.

What Break Periods Am I Entitled To? (2

1. That's illegal. When you're off the clock, you can do what you want. If you are required to maintain nurse patient ratios, then you're not truly taking an unpaid lunch break.

2. Every state is different, but I can tell you that in my state, for an 8-hour shift, you should have one 30-minute unpaid lunch break, and 2 15-minute paid breaks. And you cannot combine them. (for a 12-hour shift, it would be one unpaid 30 minute lunch and 3 15-minute paid breaks). If you get to take your two separate 15 minute breaks, but not your 30 minute break, then you should be paid for that 30 minutes. If you don't take either or both of your 15 minute breaks, we need to document that (for staffing law purposes) but you don't get any additional pay.

3. It does sound illegal to me, but I am not an attorney, nor do I play one on TV. Do you have a union? Otherwise, many state labor boards have hotlines where you can file a complaint.

I'm pretty sure that anything over six hours for someone 18 or older requires one unpaid thirty minute lunch break.

Fifteen minute breaks have been dictated by employer (paid). These were not guaranteed even if they were offered. Since they were paid (‘on the clock') we were always required to stay on campus. Those who had to leave campus for any reason had to clock out and not get paid. I'm pretty sure that's so that if anything happens to you while your off campus they cannot get sued in today's sue happy world.

Altering your time card is not cool. Some companies I have worked for required supervisor cosignature for approval of skipping lunch. That's a whole different conversation that I'm not going to get into right now...

If they're requiring you to stay, then it shouldn't be considered your unpaid lunch. This is obviously because they want to be able to call you back to work before your 30 minutes if they need you. In that case, you bet I'm clocking back in before the lunch requirement is met.

The Department of Labor does not require lunch or coffee breaks. There are states (21 last I counted) with meal breaks that are required and depends on your state. I would check your new hire packet to see what the rules are. If there is verbiage in for breaks/lunch I would continue to write my missed meals/breaks and make a copy. You would need to contact your local Department of Labor, Most people do this after they quit. I would never change someone's time card without them knowing, agreeing and countersigning.

the requirement is not to be obligated to take the break; its a federal law that they have to allow you time to break. but if you don't take it because you worked they are legally supposed to pay you for your time.