K-Mart Cruel to Employees - refusing breaks! Olean New York

The worker SHOULD know her rights and what to do.

here are the llaws of NY

Section 162 of the New York State Labor Law provides as follows:

Time allowed for meals
Every person employed in or in connection with a factory shall be allowed at least sixty minutes for the noonday meal.

Every person employed in or in connection with a mercantile or other establishment or occupation coming under the provisions of this chapter shall be allowed at least thirty minutes for the noonday meal, except as in this chapter otherwise provided. The noon day meal period is recognized as extending from eleven o'clock in the morning to two o'clock in the afternoon. An employee who works a shift of more than six hours which extends over the noonday meal period is entitled to at least thirty minutes off within that period for the meal period.

Every person employed for a period or shift starting before eleven o'clock in the morning and continuing later than seven o'clock in the evening shall be allowed an additional meal period of at least twenty minutes between five and seven o'clock in the evening.

Every person employed for a period or shift of more than six hours starting between the hours of one o'clock in the afternoon and six o'clock in the morning, shall be allowed at least sixty minutes for a meal period when employed in or in connection with a factory, and forty-five minutes for a meal period when employed in or in connection with a mercantile or other establishment or occupation coming under the provision of this chapter, at a time midway between the beginning and end of such employment.

The commissioner may permit a shorter time to be fixed for meal periods than hereinbefore provided. The permit therefore shall be in writing and shall be kept conspicuously posted in the main entrance of the establishment. Such permit may be revoked at any time.

In administering this statute, the Department applies the following interpretations and guidelines:

Employee Coverage. Section 162 applies to every "person" in any establishment or occupation covered by the Labor Law. Accordingly, all categories of workers are covered, including white collar management staff.

Shorter Meal Periods. The Department will permit a shorter meal period of not less than 30 minutes as a matter of course, without application by the employer, so long as there is no indication of hardship to employees. A meal period of not less than 20 minutes will be permitted only in special or unusual cases after investigation and issuance of a special permit.

One Employee Shift. In some instances where only one person is on duty or is the only one in a specific occupation, it is customary for the employee to eat on the job without being relieved. The Department of Labor will accept these special situations as compliance with Section 162 where the employee voluntarily consents to the arrangements. However, an uninterrupted meal period must be afforded to every employee who requests this from an employer.

Not all possible meal period questions can be anticipated and, therefore, these "Guidelines" may not cover all situations that might arise. For additional information or assistance, contact the nearest office of the Division of Labor Standards.

In CT, they are not required to even give you a fifteen. If we dont take it at my K mart, its your own fault. K mart gives you it, and its not required by law. HOwever, if you work 7.5 hours, you get a half hour break, and that is by law. I dont know laws in new york though.

In CT, they are not required to even give you a fifteen. If we dont take it at my K mart, its your own fault. K mart gives you it, and its not required by law. HOwever, if you work 7.5 hours, you get a half hour break, and that is by law. I dont know laws in new york though.

In CT, they are not required to even give you a fifteen. If we dont take it at my K mart, its your own fault. K mart gives you it, and its not required by law. HOwever, if you work 7.5 hours, you get a half hour break, and that is by law. I dont know laws in new york though.

In CT, they are not required to even give you a fifteen. If we dont take it at my K mart, its your own fault. K mart gives you it, and its not required by law. HOwever, if you work 7.5 hours, you get a half hour break, and that is by law. I dont know laws in new york though.

I also work customer service at k-mart. On any given shift, there may be 1-2 other people in the store that are trained to cover your job. At some stores, they always have at least 2 people supervising the front end (One on the schedule as "Supervisor", and the other as "Service Desk") but others, like the one in this report and mine only have one. If you can't find someone to cover your break, you can't go on break. It sucks, but the only thing I can do is find a new job, and believe me, I've been trying.

you seriously need a break working just 5 hours? Holy cow. How do you really get through life....besides eavesdropping on other people's affairs? And now, please post this 'requirement' proof. You were only an 'employee' as admitted to by yourself - not the employer who would be the one to know. Employers give breaks all the time here in Jersey - yet they are not requireled to up until more than 8 hours of work. Just because an employer felt he should give you a break, does not make it 'required'.

The girl was working 5 hours. As someone who worked AS an employee of this store several years ago (not exact store, two towns over - same state) the young girl was given 15 minutes by law to go on break.
She was not and I guess that's 'common' in that store.
disgusts me to no end.

slave labor, not decent labor.

This "legal" break all depends on state labor laws.
They are not necessarily mandatory with the exception of lunch depending on the number of hours being worked during a given shift.
The number of hours in the shift would also determine if there is a mandatory breaks (other then lunch) to be given or not.