Break interruption question

[u/PotentialPea2419]

I work in a production facility where they want all food consumption happening during our designated breaks and in the lunch room.. fair enough. My problem is that supervisors are constantly interrupting people during break, and not taking them aside but sitting down and talking about work, these are also not questions that can’t happen before or after break, how can this be addressed.

[u/sharp-calculation]

Some people at work have really weird ideas about lunch breaks and breaks in general. I'll give a few examples:

• People who eat at their desk, doing work constantly while eating. Some of these people are gaming the system and leave an hour early. Others just don't understand the concept of a "break" and only see the need to fuel their body and keep working continuously.
• I was on a committee for a while and the person in charge kept scheduling the meetings from 12:00 - 13:00. When asked about it she said "lunch is the only time you are all free!". I was quite irritated and was trying to figure out how to get out of the committee when it suddenly dissolved right after that meeting.
• "Lunch and learn". This the stupidest concept I've ever heard of, but it just won't die. It's a way of stealing your time by providing you with crappy food, but requiring you to buy into whatever is being sold (taught) by the people doing it. I refuse to attend any of these.

All of these are illustrations of people that don't understand what a work break is: It's a time to NOT do work, not talk about work, and not think about work. It's a break. A pause. A change of mental state.

[u/PotentialPea2419 → u/sharp-calculation]

It comes down to people thinking their time is more important than yours, imo. Very disrespectful.

[u/AvgMom → u/sharp-calculation]

US Fair Labor laws no longer say any break has to be provided at all (thanks Amazon!). If a meal break of 30 mins or more is offered, and the employee is “fully relieved of duty” it does not have to be paid. If the employee is doing any duty it has to be paid as work time. Under 20 mins has to be paid as work time because of the brevity. 21-29 minutes are evaluated case by case by the Labor Dept, who are pretty worker hostile these days. State laws may require mandatory breaks and pay more strictly. Pumping breastmilk, some professions & labor contracts can require paid breaks and shift maximums. OSHA requires bathroom breaks when the employee needs it without advance approval (take that Amazon!)

[u/sharp-calculation → u/AvgMom]

What do you mean "thanks Amazon"? I can't find any reference that Amazon has helped change any labor laws other than something about NOT being required to attend union organization meetings.

Also what is your weird sentence above: "Pumping breastmilk, some professions & labor contracts can require paid breaks and shift maximums."

Most of your post doesn't make any sense. It just sounds like "I hate work and big corporations are the evil".

For the record, in my several decades in the workforce, I have never experienced a problem with breaks, lunch, or being paid wages. I've always been paid what I worked for, had mandated breaks, and unpaid lunch breaks. I don't think anyone expects to be paid for a lunch break. Why would you?

[u/AvgMom → u/sharp-calculation]

You don’t know about all the lawsuits against Amazon for denying bathroom breaks to employees and their inhumane expectations for max productivity without any meal or rest breaks? It’s been in the press for years. They ding employee productivity quotas for going to pee. That’s why their warehouses and drivers keep unionizing. Amazon treats workers like trash. Lincoln freed the slaves.

Go read the Federal labor laws that say companies DO have to give paid breaks to breastfeeding women who are expressing milk. It’s called the PUMP law. Go read it. There are also required breaks for some professions - like nurses and airplane pilots. Otherwise companies do not have to offer any kind of paid breaks. They do have to provide bathroom access and unpaid meal breaks.

[u/sharp-calculation → u/AvgMom]

You said laws "no longer require" breaks and then "thanks Amazon". That statement means that Amazon changed US labor laws. I can't find any evidence of that.

I'm somewhat aware of Amazon's labor practices but I haven't studied it at all. I am sympathetic to people being mistreated in any circumstance and certainly at work.

[u/Still_Condition8669]

Do you clock out for these breaks? If you are off the clock, you can’t be expected to work, so you need to tell them you are off the clock and can’t assist until you’ve clocked back in. If you are still technically on the clock, there probably isn’t much you can do as you are still getting paid during the break.

[u/fallensongbird]

Can you leave campus or go to your car to avoid this?

[u/PotentialPea2419 → u/fallensongbird]

Not everyone drives to work, those who do yes, but we really shouldn’t have to.

[u/fallensongbird → u/PotentialPea2419]

Absolutely agree with you. Sometimes at my work even tho I sit at a desk, I turn off my monitor and put on my headphones and put a sticky note up that says On Lunch. What they're doing is taking advantage of you and they know it. Just say, hey Mgr, this sounds important but I am on lunch and need some time to finish eating. Ill get back to you when I clock back in. I get that not everyone drives to work, it's a natural assumption so thats why I said go to your car. It's not an attempt at not being inclusive.