The U.S. Department of Labor has clarified compensable work time under
the Fair Labor Standards Act in regard to meal breaks, straight time and
overtime. In an opinion letter dated May 15, 2008, the department reached
the following conclusions:If an employee fails to take a
30-minute unpaid meal break and the failure to take a meal break does not
cause the employee to work more than 40 hours in the workweek, no
additional compensation is due to the employee if the employee’s total
wages for the workweek divided by the compensable hours worked equal or
exceed the applicable minimum wage.
