Have you or anyone you know ever sued for not having a lunch break?

[YoutubeTheNP]

I have been working in the ER world now since 2009. Typically we don't get lunch breaks, which i'm use too. I almost always eat in between patients. I know quite often the nurses miss breaks too.

So my question is have y'all ever come across anyone who has sued heir employer for consistently not getting a break during their 12 hour shift, and if so what was the outcome?

I'm not thinking about or interested in pursuing a lawsuit but I am curious to hear if others have done the opposite.

[Nurse Beth, MSN]

In California nurses are entitled to a 30 minute uninterrupted break, meaning not answering pagers or phones. Some hospitals employ break nurses who cover a nurse's patients while he/she takes a meal break. Technically another nurse who has an assignment cannot cover as it would violate nurse-patient ratios.

What happens in reality differs from hospital to hospital. Several class action lawsuits have been filed and continue to be filed.

[Rose_Queen, BSN, MSN, RN]

Most states don't specify that workers have to take lunch, only that they must be paid for the time if they don't get one. It's not a federal requirement and less than half of states require it.

State Laws on Meal Breaks

Fewer than half the states require employers to provide a meal break. In those states that require meal breaks, employees who work more than five or six hours at a time typically must be allowed to take a half hour to eat. Some states prohibit employers from giving this time off near the beginning or end of the work shift. You can find a list of state meal break laws at the Department of Labor's website.

You aren't entitled to be paid for this time off if you are completely relieved of all work duties. If you do have to work while eating—for example, by answering phones or waiting for a delivery—then you have the right to be paid for that time.

Meal and Rest Breaks: Your Rights as an Employee | Nolo.com

And the federal Department of Labor info on states: U.S. Department of Labor — Wage and Hour Division (WHD) — Minimum Length of Meal Period Required under State Law for Adult Employees in Private Sector1/ January 1, 2013

[mmc51264, BSN, MSN, RN]

we are supposed to get a 30 min lunch. never happens. I am lucky that I have had weight loss surgery and am ok with taking a few minuted for a small snack in between things but sometimes I see these people sitting outside having lunch and think how nice it would be...

Some are pretty adamant about eating undisturbed but we have not come to a consensus about a unit policy. My lunch is usually a Venti chai tea latte @ 1430 LOL

[Sour Lemon]

A previous employer of mine was sued. I had only been working there for a short time and got several hundred dollars as a result (although I'd had no problems with my own breaks). Some long-term employees got thousands ...at least from what I hear.

[NurseLatteDNP, MSN, DNP, RN]

No, never dealt with a lawsuit in my organization. We have things in place to make sure the lunches happen. One of them is assigned buddies and one is escalating the 'no-lunch' to a charge nurse or a supervisor. Of course there are exceptions when codes happen.

[SaltySarcasticSally, LPN, RN]

No but I wish it were enforced. I'm no longer at this job but I did PRN at an urgent care where there was only 2 of us clinical support staff. We were slammed, all the time. 12 hour shifts were really 14 hours with not one single break, not even 10 minutes to snack. I need like 10 minutes for a 14 hour shift to eat a sandwich or hangry sx start in. I don't know how their regular staff did that every single day.

[adventure_rn, MSN, NP]

Never personally seen it as a lawsuit, but I have seen it as bargaining chip in union hospitals (i.e. the union threatening to take legal action). The union hospitals where I've worked have enforced lunch breaks much more seriously than the non-union ones. If we clock out 'no lunch' we get paid OT (1.5 x base pay) for that time; therefore, management doesn't want us to work through lunch and tries to provide resources to help us get breaks. That said, my state doesn't have staff ratio laws, so usually nurses end up breaking one another (i.e. covering one anothers' phones/patients).

[catsmeow1972, BSN, RN]

We have assigned lunch buddies. It is considered impolite to leave your lunch buddy with scheduled meds and such. We leave a post-it note with bits on each patient (no needs/waiting for D/C, etc.) If we don't get lunch, when we clock out at the end of shift, there is a question "Did you take a 30 minute uninterrupted lunch break?" No lunch...you answer no. Then you get paid for it.

I had one job where we were told, "don't bother submitting that 'no lunch' form, it won't be signed." This was from the NM. Wow! Turn over was appalling there. That was only one symptom of a badly managed unit.

[iluvivt, BSN, RN]

Yes. I was paid almost 8000 dollars for almost three years of uninterrupted lunch breaks. This only involved employees that carried and were expected to answer pages on lunch breaks. That was the crux of the matter. We were told we were expected to answer pages during meal breaks and according to the labor code they considered it a "molested" lunch break.

[RNperdiem, RN]

I have heard of employees clocking-in "no lunch" on the days they don't get lunch so they get fairly paid for the times worked. It seems simpler and more effective than a lawsuit.

[Nurse Beth, MSN]

I have heard of employees clocking-in "no lunch" on the days they don't get lunch so they get fairly paid for the times worked. It seems simpler and more effective than a lawsuit.

The problem is many nurses do not want to rock the boat and fear discipline if they incur overtime.