What texas law says an employee is required a break?

Question

What texas law says an employee is required a break?

Answer 1

Q: After what length of time does an employer need to provide its employees with a break/lunch period? Do these times need to be

paid?

A: The Texas Payday Law does not address the issue of rest breaks or meal breaks. There is no current legislation in the state of Texas

requiring an employer to provide breaks - they are optional. Work schedules, including breaks, regular hours and overtime hours, are left to the

discretion of the employer and are usually based on the needs of the business. However, if breaks are given, the U.S. Department of Labor

(DOL) has guidelines on this issue. If "coffee breaks/rest breaks," consisting of 20 minutes or less are given, they must be paid. They are paid

because they are considered to be beneficial to the employer since they generally promote productivity and efficiency on the part of the

employee. "Lunch breaks," defined as a break of 30 minutes or longer for the purpose of eating a meal, where the employee is fully relieved of

duties (performing no work), do not have to be paid. For additional information on this topic, you can contact DOL at 1-866-487-2365.

Answer 2

There are a number of employment practices which the FLSA does not regulate. For example, the FLSA does not require:

(1) vacation, holiday, severance, or sick pay;

(2) meal or rest periods, holidays off, or vacations;

(3) premium pay for weekend or holiday work;

(4) pay raises or fringe benefits;

(5) a discharge notice, reason for discharge, or immediate payment of final wages to terminated employees; and

(6) pay stubs or "W-2"s.

The FLSA does not provide wage payment or collection procedures for an employee's usual or promised wages or for commissions in excess of those required by the FLSA. Also, the FLSA does not limit the number of hours in a day, or days in a week, an employee may be required or scheduled to work, including overtime hours, if the employee is at least 16 years old. However, some states do have laws covering some of these issues, such as meal or rest periods, or discharge notices.

The above matters, which are not covered by the FLSA, are generally for agreement between the employer and the employees or their authorized representatives.

Per the U.S. Department of Labor January, 1, 2008, Texas is NOT one of the 8 states that require rest periods.

Hope this helps,

Tex

Answer 3

I have no idea what specific law would state this, but check with the department of labor or similar organization.  They will have information on employee rights and what you are entitled to.  Most states require companies to post official publications with this information in a central location accessible to all personnel.