“Whenever there were no customers, I sat down for 15-20 minutes. Later, I found out all that time was unpaid.”
Client R worked as a cashier at a retail store. During an 8-hour shift, there was no designated meal time; she simply sat on a chair and rested for 15 to 20 minutes whenever the store was empty. However, upon checking her pay stubs, she discovered the company had added up all these short breaks over the week and subtracted them from her total working hours, labeling them as “Unpaid Breaks.”
Song Law Firm’s Legal Analysis: Short Breaks Under 20 Minutes Must Be “Paid.”
This is a regulation employers frequently misunderstand or abuse. Under federal labor law, break time can only be unpaid if the employee is “Completely Relieved” from duty for a meal break, which generally lasts 30 minutes or more.
However, Short Rest Breaks lasting between 5 to 20 minutes (like coffee breaks) are customarily considered Compensable Work Hours and must be Paid. Song Law Firm argued that the company’s practice of illegally accumulating Client R’s short breaks and making them unpaid was a clear case of unpaid wages.
The Result: Aggregating Missed Short Breaks and Recalculating Overtime
We gathered the fragmented time and restored it as a rightful claim.
-
Result 1: Restored all short break times that were unfairly deducted as unpaid back into paid work hours.
-
Result 2: Because these restored hours pushed her weekly total over 40 hours, we retroactively applied the 1.5x overtime rate.
-
Result 3: Secured a commitment from the employer to prohibit unpaid short breaks and establish a clear rest period policy.
Even a brief moment to catch your breath is part of your workday for the company. Song Law Firm translates your lost time into recovered wages.
[Contact Us]
-
KakaoTalk Channel: Song Law Firm
-
Phone: 201-461-0031
-
Email: mail@songlawfirm.com
-
Website: www.songlawfirm.com
Disclaimer: Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. This content is based on general legal scenarios and past successes, and does not constitute legal advice. Please consult with an attorney regarding your specific situation.
