Meal and Rest Period Best Practices
- Develop and adopt a valid written meal- and rest-period policy.
- Educate managers/supervisors on all state law requirements.
- Maintain accurate time records for all employees, including "in" and "out" times for meal breaks.
- Ensure that first meal breaks are taken within the first five hours of the work shift, and that second meal breaks are taken within the second five hours of the work shift.
- Allow employees to leave the workplace during meal breaks.
- Although employees will not "clock out" for rest breaks, require employees to make a notation on the timecard to indicate when they leave for a rest break and when they return.
- Require supervisors to review time records regularly to spot (and correct) meal- and rest-period violations.
- Discipline employees for repeated violations of meal- and rest-period rules.
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