FLSA2007-1NA — Automatic deduction of a 30-minute lunch period and recordkeeping

U.S. Department of Labor
Employment Standards Administration
Wage and Hour Division
Washington, D.C. 20210

FLSA2007-1NA

May 14, 2007

Dear Name*:

This is in response to your letter requesting an opinion concerning the application of the Fair
Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to your client’s proposed practice for compensating employees
for meal periods. Your client is a long-term health care facility for elderly and disabled
residents (the Employer).

Employees currently punch a time clock when they begin their lunch break and at the
conclusion of the 30-minute lunch period. The Employer proposes a new practice in which the
employees will no longer punch out and in at lunchtime because of numerous problems arising
from this practice. The Employer proposes to automatically deduct a 30-minute lunch period
from the employee’s total daily time worked, unless the employee notifies the Employer that he
or she did not take a 30-minute lunch period that day. The Employer will post this policy near
the time clock, include it in the employee handbook, and review it at new hire orientation and
during periodic in-service discussions.

In view of the above, you ask the following questions.

Q.1. Is this new practice acceptable for purposes of the FLSA?

A.1. The Fair Labor Standards Act regulations require that each employer keep and maintain
an accurate record of all hours worked for each employee. See 29 C.F.R. § 516.2.
1
The
regulations do not prescribe the method or means for recording hours worked so long as the
records accurately reflect the number of hours worked each day and each week by each
employee. Id. Time clocks are not required. See 29 C.F.R. § 785.48. Therefore, the
employer’s proposal to discontinue the use of a time clock to record the meal period does not
violate the FLSA so long as the employer accurately records actual hours worked, including
any work performed during the lunch period.

Q.2. If an employee takes a lunch period of less than 30 minutes, is the Employer obligated to
pay for the full 30 minutes or only for that portion of the 30-minute time period the employee
was not actually eating lunch?

A.2. Bona fide meal periods are not worktime. Ordinarily 30 minutes or more is long enough
for a bona fide meal period. See 29 C.F.R. § 785.19. Meal periods of less than 30 minutes in
which the employee is completely relieved from duty for the purpose of eating may be bona
fide, and thus not considered hours worked, under special conditions. See Wage and Hour
Opinion Letters
FLSA2004-22 and September 25, 2000 (copy enclosed). Section 31b23 of the
Wage and Hour Division’s Field Operations Handbook (FOH) enumerates the factors

1
Unless otherwise noted, any statutes, regulations, opinion letters, or other interpretive material cited in this letter
can be found at
www.wagehour.dol.gov.

considered on a case-by-case basis in determining whether a meal period is bona fide including,
for example, whether the employees have sufficient time to eat a regular meal, whether there
are work-related interruptions to the meal period, and whether the employees have agreed to
the shorter period. For purposes of answering your question, please note that the FOH provides
that periods less than 20 minutes should be specially scrutinized by Wage and Hour
Investigators to ensure that the time is sufficient to eat a regular meal under the circumstances
presented.
2

If the facts demonstrate that the period of time is a bona fide meal period, the employer is not
required to compensate for time during which the employee is completely relieved for purposes
of eating a meal. The employer must always, however, compensate employees for work time.
If the employee commences work before the full 30-minute lunch period has ended, the
employee must be compensated for this work time.

This opinion is based exclusively on the facts and circumstances described in your request and
is given based on your representation, express or implied, that you have provided a full and fair
description of all the facts and circumstances that would be pertinent to our consideration of the
question presented. Existence of any other factual or historical background not contained in
your letter might require a conclusion different from the one expressed herein. You have
represented that this opinion is not sought by a party to pending private litigation concerning
the issue addressed herein. You have also represented that this opinion is not sought in
connection with an investigation or litigation between a client or firm and the Wage and Hour
Division or the Department of Labor.

If we can be of further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Sincerely,

Barbara R. Relerford
Office of Enforcement Policy
Fair Labor Standards Team

* Note: The actual name(s) was removed to preserve privacy in accordance with 5 U.S.C.
§ 552(b)(7).

2
Applicable state or local laws do not require lunch periods in excess of the period indicated.

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