Job Doc

Does an employee receive a meal break, if a company is short-staffed?

Pattie Hunt Sinacole discusses meal breaks in Massachusetts

Ask the Job Doc. Boston.com

May 6, 2024

2 minutes to read

Q: I work for a busy dental office. We have trouble keeping people so there is a lot of turn over with my comrades. Sometimes I need to take a break mid-day to make a doctor’s appointment, or some type of other personal call. I am prohibited from using a phone at the front desk, which I understand. Sometimes though I am required to work through the day, without a break. I can run to the restroom, and leave a placard saying that I am away from my desk momentarily, but that is it. No one is around to cover for me. Should I be getting a lunch hour? A friend told me that a company has to give employees a lunch hour. Do you know anything about this?

A: In Massachusetts, employers are required to offer employees a 30-minute meal break after six consecutive hours of work in a single work day. Coffee breaks and other similar breaks are not required in Massachusetts. A meal break is typically unpaid. Employers can arrange an employee’s schedule to best meet the needs of the business. For example, retail stores often require employees to take their meal breaks to avoid mid-day. Or else their lunch time shoppers might arrive to find a store without any assistance!

An employer can also allow employees to leave early in lieu of taking their meal break. An employer can allow this if it meets their business needs. Sometimes this is especially helpful to the employee because of childcare concerns or bus/train schedules. An employee can also voluntarily forfeit their meal break and work through the meal break, if the employer agrees.

An employee taking a bona fide meal break must be relieved of all work-related responsibilities and must be permitted to leave the premises. Often times, I get asked, “Can I have Marie cover the phones during her lunch break? We can have them forwarded to the lunch room.” An employer can ask someone to cover the phones but this does not count as Marie’s meal break. Marie must be offered another 30-minute time slot as her meal break. Marie also must have the freedom to leave the premises.

This law does not apply to certain industries in Massachusetts, including those employers in the iron, glass, print, bleach, dye, paper and letterpress industries. Also, the attorney general’s office in Massachusetts can grant waivers to factories or plants but rarely is such a waiver granted.

Employers can be liable for breaking this law. In Massachusetts, an employer can be fined from $300 to $600 per violation. If an employer is found liable, the employer also may face other financial costs like mandatory treble damages, the expenses involved in litigation as well as attorney’s fees. This law is enforced by the Massachusetts attorney general’s office. The following link provides more information about workplace rights in the state of Massachusetts.

https://www.mass.gov/guides/breaks-and-time-off#-meal-breaks-