The U.S. Department
of Labor (DOL) has issued a new opinion letter (FLSA2008-7NA) clarifying what counts
as compensable work time under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
Responding to an employer’s questions about its break and timekeeping policies
and practices, the DOL concludes the following:
1. An employee who
works through his or her allotted 30-minute meal break must be compensated for that
time worked, even if the employee’s failure to take the break violated company
policy.
2. The time worked
because of a missed meal period, as well as time worked before or after the employee’s
scheduled shift, counts as hours worked for purposes of determining overtime compensation.
3. Rounding of time to the nearest five minutes,
one-tenth, or quarter of an hour is generally permitted, provided rounding isn’t
used in a manner that will result, over a period of time, in not paying
employees properly for all time they have worked.