The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled recently that the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires a company to pay nonexempt employees for any break that is 20 minutes or less, regardless of how the break is structured.
The decision by the appeals court in DOL v. American Future Systems, Inc., No. 16-2685 (3d Cir. October 13, 2017), concludes, consistent with Labor Department (DOL) interpretations of the FLSA, that while the law does not require an employer to provide rest breaks for employees, if an employer chooses to do so and the breaks are for 20 minutes or less, they must be paid, even if employees are relieved of all duties while on break. (Please note, however, that some state laws, including California, Colorado, Illinois, Kentucky, Minnesota, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington, do require employers to provide rest breaks.)
A copy of the Third Circuit’s American Future Systems decision is available here.
Members of the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC) can read more here.