No breaks during an 8-10 hour shift: Advice?

[blankfaced]

Tell them, "I'm taking my break" if they tell you no, then take it anyway.

If they fire you for it, contact a lawyer and bring them to court. They cannot deny you 2 15's and a 30.

They really can though. Just like in MI (my home) they don't legally have to allow a break of any kind no matter how long you work. The only ones in MI that are protected are people under 18, for every 5 hours of scheduled work they have to give them a 30 minute uninterrupted rest period.

[Ivanstone]

Unless youre doing a hard back breaking job like construction or farming, what the hell do you need a break for? Breaks just reduce your paycheck. If youre tutoring kids, youre sitting on your ass all day in the air conditioning talking. When most people take a break, they sit on their ass and talk (the same thing youre doing for a job).

Also there is no federal law requiring your employer to give you breaks. Its up to each state and many states have no laws the require employers to provide breaks unless the employee is a minor.

Note: Orlong has a cushy unionized government job. He doesn't feel the pain you feel but it completely comfortable with scolding you anyways.

[ItsRainingMetal]

My employees have a right to a minimum of three breaks per day, 1x 30 min and 2x 15 min.

But in my company, I allow them to hold whatever break and chat time at the coffee machine that they feel is necessary, it keeps people happy and motivated and since noone is slamming them and breathing down their necks constantly, it allows them to better focus on whatever they happen to be working on, upping the quality on the end product.

So, employees have alot of freedom and control over their own work hours here, besides all this, they also have in their contract, a share in the company, so it's really in their own best interest to do their best..

I can only say, this approach is working well for me, the bottom line is positive year after year.

[Deleted]

this ain't the the fucking army, it's a job. And most Businesses end up with shitty employees no matter how well they do. Checkmate.

The businesses that don't treat their employees like dirt tend to have less shitty employees than the ones that do, c-checkmate?

[Deleted]

just make a deal to be paid 5 % less and to work 5% less thats 30 min so you can have it as a break

[Demona3]

Hey all!

I recently started a new job tutoring young children at a nationwide tutoring franchise in Arizona. I love the job (as in, I love the kids that I work with and the environment) but am not so pleased with management. In particular, during an 8-10 hour workday I do not get a single break or lunch period, which I know is against Arizona law. Is there a government department I can contact to anonymously report this to? Or what other types of steps could I take?

I probably wouldn't put up much of a fuss, as the pay is good, but I have epilepsy and not being able to eat for 8-10 hours has been giving me auras and small seizures. Please help :3

Go to your human resources office. Tell them of the situation. If it doesn't get resolved, take them to the state. Every job in every state has laws that say if you work so many hours, you have to at least get a 15 min. break.

[Orange Joe]

Go to your human resources office. Tell them of the situation. If it doesn't get resolved, take them to the state. Every job in every state has laws that say if you work so many hours, you have to at least get a 15 min. break.

Only 21 states require breaks...



If this thread has done anything it's shown that many many many people need to learn what Americas labor laws actually are.

[Unproven]

Only 21 states require breaks...



If this thread has done anything it's shown that many many many people need to learn what Americas labor laws actually are.

i learned, and im utterly disgusted. how can a country who sees itself as rulers, treat their fellow Americans like trash?
dang. glad i got born in a real 1. world country and not an imposterious thing like murica

[unbound]

Suck it up butter cup. I've had to work 13 hour shifts with no break.

Always get a chuckle with these types of stupid responses. Rather than pushing towards the right answer, corporations have successfully got people to fight for them. People like this are literally playing right into corporate leaders' trap while they walk away with all the money and benefits.

[Jaylock]

isn't that great meanwhile the people who work for the federal govt that makes these laws up get full protections. The state folks get full protections under their state employee unions. but then they turn around and create laws that screw everyone else.


you have to love the ruling class.

Just get a 100k+ a year salary job and they could give 2 shits about when you take lunch breaks!

My boss could care less when I take off for lunch and even how long it is, as long as im getting my work done which I always do.

[Zoldor]

If you have epilepsy they should have to provide you with some breaks or at least allow you to eat and work at the same time. Medical condition plays a big role in a lot of this kind of stuff.

Contact an employment lawyer for your state that is your best bet. But if you don't want to rock too much of the boat I'd eat while I worked and wait for them to tell you, that you can't do that. Then question the situation.

I'm always amazed at the places that don't give a lunch for a shift 8 hours or longer, it is like they want their employees to suck and do a bad job the second half of the day. Eating makes you a better worker. Then again, with the amount of job seekers and most large companies not really caring about employee productivity or work product, they'll just replace instead of being a good company.

[Captain N]

Always get a chuckle with these types of stupid responses. Rather than pushing towards the right answer, corporations have successfully got people to fight for them. People like this are literally playing right into corporate leaders' trap while they walk away with all the money and benefits.

Does this surprise you at all? We have a country that on average is completely OK with being paid $960/month less because they believe that paying $200/month in union dues is theft (bringing the total down to $760).

https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2013/04/art2full.pdf

It saddens me that people today champion the things people literally died for years ago to protect workers.

[dextersmith]

That sounds illegal.

[Zoldor]

My employees have a right to a minimum of three breaks per day, 1x 30 min and 2x 15 min.

But in my company, I allow them to hold whatever break and chat time at the coffee machine that they feel is necessary, it keeps people happy and motivated and since noone is slamming them and breathing down their necks constantly, it allows them to better focus on whatever they happen to be working on, upping the quality on the end product.

So, employees have alot of freedom and control over their own work hours here, besides all this, they also have in their contract, a share in the company, so it's really in their own best interest to do their best..

I can only say, this approach is working well for me, the bottom line is positive year after year.

This is good to hear. This is how it should be done and studies have shown that this works better than working your employees to death and treating them like slaves. Over extended employees make more mistakes, create more accidents, and are less productive than those who take breaks. Too bad Republican states and large companies don't care about this as they have enough slav...workers to just replace burn out.

And if you really want to be a dick, have a big seizure, blame the lack of ability to eat after they deny you and sue them. I'm sure all the corporate defenders will come out and blame the problems of corporations and the world on people that do this, but I hate to break the bad news, this is the one of the only ways to get corporations to change their policies now that we've vilified unions to death.

[chazus]

i learned, and im utterly disgusted. how can a country who sees itself as rulers, treat their fellow Americans like trash?
dang. glad i got born in a real 1. world country and not an imposterious thing like murica

It's honestly a result of the "American Dream". Part of that includes the idea if you work hard, you will be rewarded, and that this is a linear thing. The more you work, the more you're rewarded.

Two things happened.

1) Costs far outpaced wages. The cost of living (including things like CPI, inflation, and simply new markets and things people use) has gone up, but wages on the low end haven't kept pace. It's gone from "Work a lot, get paid a lot" to "Work a lot, because you have to at that wage"

2) Companies have banked on this, lobbying for regulation to protect this fact to effectively pigeonhole people into those positions

[Unproven]

2) Companies have banked on this, lobbying for regulation to protect this fact to effectively pigeonhole people into those positions

but, thats so scary, honestly makes my stomach hurt just thinking of it, the American dream is so full of slime it should have been thrown out a long time ago.
where is the humanity in all this? where are the politicians? the outrage to get the laws changed?

[vilememory]

but, thats so scary, honestly makes my stomach hurt just thinking of it, the American dream is so full of slime it should have been thrown out a long time ago.
where is the humanity in all this? where are the politicians? the outrage to get the laws changed?

Humanity was let go to increase profit margins. Politicians are accepting donations from lobbyists of companies to keep these laws in place. Media has spun it so that anybody that wants to try to change this is just lazy and greedy.

[chazus]

but, thats so scary, honestly makes my stomach hurt just thinking of it, the American dream is so full of slime it should have been thrown out a long time ago.
where is the humanity in all this? where are the politicians? the outrage to get the laws changed?

The problem is, those kind of things don't happen quickly. You could say the same thing about slavery, or voting, or gay marriage, or any of the other ABSOLUTELY awful things in the world (Or hell, just america). Gay sex (and pretty much inherently being gay) was illegal in 14 US States until 2003. Thats... crazy. Not gay marriage. Simply having a sexual partner.

There is outrage, but sometimes that gets overshadowed by other things. How many people would get screwed over because of laws mandating lunch/breaks? You just shaved $400 off some guy's monthly income because he's working his ass off to make ends meet, because businesses are required to follow law.

It's easier to have state laws in place, or not work for shitty companies, than it is to move state/federal laws on things already in place.

Basically, don't get a job you can't do.

[PhantasmagoriaX]

Hey OP, To cope have some little snacks in your desk.. like nuts or something small like that.

I used to work in FL for a short time and they didnt have any rules like AZ and it was total hell.

[Gaidax]

Hey OP, To cope have some little snacks in your desk.. like nuts or something small like that.

Careful there, the workplace master may not like it and give him a taste of a whip. Him eating would amount to stealing time and thus money from work and we have laws in 'murica, buddy!