A Michigan medical center which failed to pay employees for missed meal periods had to pay $46,864 in back wages and damages to 13 affected workers. The US Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division reviewed the medical center’s payroll records and determined the facility failed to pay 13 employees for missed meal periods when their meal periods were interrupted or not taken because they were required to perform work.
Specifically, the Division learned the employer deducted meal periods from employees’ paid time automatically and did not make proper adjustment for workers when they worked during their meal periods, which caused violations of the overtime requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The investigation found the violations were caused by the failure to adjust payroll procedures for recently transferred staff and an error in the facility’s payroll system that automatically deducted 30-minutes for meal periods. The medical center has since made corrections to its payroll systems.
“This case should remind all employers to verify and validate employees’ hours worked and to not rely solely on automated payroll systems,” said Wage and Hour District Director Timolin Mitchell in Detroit.
Compliance Perspective
Issue
Bona fide meal periods are rest periods, not worktime. The employee must be completely relieved from duty for the purposes of eating regular meals. Asking an employee to engage in work-related activities during a period of time when the employee is not being compensated for their time can be considered fraud. If an employee is not relieved of all work duties, both active and inactive, during a meal period, then this cannot be considered a meal period, and the employee must be compensated for their time.
Discussion Points
- Review your policies and procedures on rest periods, meal periods, and recordkeeping to ensure they comply with federal and state requirements. Update your policies as needed.
- Train all staff who have responsibility for payroll systems and scheduling about your policy and procedures, and ensure they demonstrate competence with the requirements. Document that these trainings occurred, and file each signed document in the employee’s education file.
- Periodically audit to ensure that payroll systems and recordkeeping are accurate and employees are paid correctly. Audit employees for understanding in how they can report any concerns to their supervisor or through the hotline, including anonymously.
*This news alert has been prepared by Med-Net Concepts, LLC for informational purposes only and is not intended to provide legal advice.*
