Companies might have to pay hourly employees for time they spend consuming lunch, if the employers impose traveling obligations on those workers during that time, according to the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.
In a Sept. 15 ruling hailed as extremely consequential by plaintiffs counsel, the Fifth Circuit ruled that a jury could review whether an employer who schedules a 30-minute break for a worker’s lunch but imposes traveling obligations as part of that time, should have to pay the employee for that break time. The meals, because of the traveling obligations, could be defined as “rest periods” under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), and therefore be eligible for back-pay claims, the Fifth Circuit ruled.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are third party online distributors of the broad collection of current and archived versions of ALM's legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law customers are able to access and use ALM's content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, The New York Law Journal, and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information.
For questions call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [email protected]
