Idaho Work Break Laws, an Overview
Idaho tends to be far more lax in its requirements and regulations on work breaks than the federal government. In fact, many of the requirements placed on employers under federal law (the Fair Labor Standards Act) simply do not apply to Idaho employees.
This is not to say that employers have no obligations when it comes to break time, meal periods, or rest periods. In some sectors of employment, such as retail, it is common for employers to provide scheduled and/or unscheduled breaks.
Idaho-based employees in certain industries, such as transportation and agriculture, may also be legally entitled to certain breaks or meal periods under state or federal laws. As it relates to agricultural employees, ranch hands, and farm workers, these rights may fall under the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act or Idaho’s minimum wage laws .
Outside of these enumerated exceptions, however, the only time an employer is required to provide time off is when an employee is lactating.
There is no blanket state or federal law regulating statutory breaks or meal periods in Idaho. This means that employers can adopt company-wide policies regarding when and how breaks are provided to their employees. If the company policy states that employees are entitled to paid or unpaid lunch breaks (plus the length and few other considerations), this policy must be honored.
While breaks, lunches, etc. can be granted at the employer’s discretion, strict legal enforcement of these matters is not enforced in the state. Of course, Idaho employers are still obligated to comply with any and all state and federal safety rules, worker’s compensation laws, and general employment and privacy laws.
Meal Breaks in Idaho: Regulations and Requirements
Meal breaks in Idaho are generally not mandated by state law. Instead, they are a matter of employer discretion. This is one of the questions that I get asked most commonly when working with HR Director clients and other human resources professionals. The Idaho Department of Labor subscribes to the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) when it states in its Idaho Wage and Hour Laws for Employers that "A bona fide meal period is a period of not less than 30 minutes." Nevertheless, the determination of whether a specific time period is exempt from pay requirements is left to the employer. Unlike overtime, where state and federal law have complex and mind-numbing tests, errors and the specter of liability are much less for meals. It is rare for multiple breaks for employees to be mandated by state law in Idaho. For example, "A manufacturer that operates over 10 hours in a day shall have a 1/2 hour meal period" and "A hard rock underground mine shall provide a last meal break of 3/4 hour or more. The lunch shall commence at approximately 3 o’clock p.m. At least 1/4 hour of work must be performed after lunch. Lunch break will not begin more than 5 hours before quitting time." Seems simple enough, right? Not so fast! The last case we found on this topic – giving rise to the notion of double pay for a missed break – was Gunter Dep’t Store v. Bost. The Idaho Supreme Court stated in its 1999 decision: "[E]stablished policy providing significant incentive for compliance with terms of employment agreements is not a sufficient economic incentive to be reasonably relied upon as a substantial part of the basis upon which the contracts were made; thus, the parties hereto had no real flight of choice as to whether to subscribe to the policy. Moreover, the established policy was unenforceable because the statutory provisions of the Idaho Command of Fair Employment Act forbade the individual defendant to participate in its enforcement, thereby rendering it illusory." Although this bad case (for the employer) is thirty years old, it is still arguably law in Idaho. Even without Gunter, the Department of Labor and a potentially sympathetic jury or judge could award an employee a lot of money for unpaid meals that were promised, but not delivered. If you have a policy in place or an employee handbook with the promise of an unpaid meal, you may be in trouble if it is not consistently enforced. And remember that do not have to pay double time – even under the 2006 Idaho Supreme Court decision in Anderson v. Idaho Power Co. The bottom line is that employers should think about carefully considering how existing policies are enforced (if there is an existing policy) and be aware that the law is evolving in this area.
Rest Breaks and Short Work Breaks in Idaho Offices
The law does not require employers to provide any breaks, including rest or short breaks. However, if employers offer those breaks, the time must be compensated.
21.01 General Rule. Rule 100 prohibits employers from requiring their employees to work through a legally required rest or meal period. Unless the employee is engaged in work, they must be completely relieved of any and all duties during such a permitted break of tea, short lunch or duty-free lunch. If the employee performing such service is required to remain on call during such break, the employer must compensate the employee for the time spent on such break.
21.01.01 Definition. "Compensated Time" – Time during which the employee is relieved of all duties and is free to leave the premises. Employers will not be considered to have satisfied the requirements of this Rule, however, if they require the employee to continue working despite the offer of such a break.
In Idaho, the Industrial Commission regulates wage and hour requirements, including general rules governing breaks. Neither the Idaho Wage Payment Law nor the Idaho Minimum Wage Law sets out regulations for breaks. While the law does not require employers to offer breaks, if an employer does so, breaks must be compensated.
How Idaho’s Break Laws Stack Up Against Neighboring States
All 50 states have the authority to adopt their own employment laws, including those relating to work breaks. This means that requirements may vary from one state to another. Consider the following examples when comparing Idaho’s break laws to those in nearby states:
Washington
In Washington, state law does not require employers to provide rest breaks to employees. However, Washington workplaces must afford employees the opportunity to take short breaks. These rest breaks must be appropriate to the total hours worked; generally, they should be 10 minutes for every four hours. No employees may be required to work during rest breaks, and they must be paid.
Oregon
Oregon requires employers to give employees "reasonable rest breaks" for every four hours they are on duty. Employees who work a four-hour shift must be granted at least a 10-minute uninterrupted rest period at a time determined by management. Employees who work more than six consecutive hours in a shift must be afforded a 30-minute unpaid meal period, in addition to two 10-minute rest periods.
Utah
Utah state law does not address the issue of breaks. Employers are not required to provide employees with the opportunity to take rest or meal breaks while on duty. However, Utah labor laws do require employers to provide employees with enough time to eat a meal. Employees working shifts of at least five hours are entitled to a 30-minute unpaid meal break.
Workers Crossing State Lines
Employees should be aware that the rules defining whether an employee is eligible to receive work breaks may vary depending on how they cross state lines in a day. For example, if you work in Idaho but drive a few miles to Oregon for work one day, you may be subject to the more stringent work break requirements in Oregon.
Employer Work Breaks Law Best Practices
To the extent there are not laws requiring employers to provide breaks and rest periods in Idaho, they may still prohibit them. However, given many employees like them, encouraging voluntary breaks may be a beneficial practice for many employers to adopt. By allowing time away from a work station for employees, doing so could help rejuvenate them and keep them happier . Happy employees are generally more productive and less likely to be absent or suffer work related injuries. Providing breaks may make employees feel more valued. That said, if an employer allows breaks, they should put them in writing to prevent miscommunication.
Common False Beliefs Regarding Idaho Work Break Laws
Although an influx of states have legislation either requiring lunch and/or rest breaks or regulating the manner in which such breaks are paid, Idaho is not one of those states. Consequently, most Idaho employers are probably still working under the assumption that they may do whatever they want when it comes to work breaks.
Wrong. The Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA") does govern work breaks for non-governmental employers – although only to a fairly minimal degree. Under the FLSA, employers must pay employees for short work breaks that are 15 minutes or less. Thus, if employers provide a bona fide rest period of 10 minutes or less, the employee is not relieved of duty, must continue to be paid, and the time will count as hours worked. Employers are not required to provide breaks with this length, but if they do, they must pay employees for that time, and it will count toward overtime calculations.
If an employer provides "bona fide" rest periods of 20 minutes or longer, then the rest periods are typically unpaid and employees are not considered to be performing any work during those periods. Pursuant to the FLSA, these bona fide rest periods are "to be entirely at the option and convenience of the employer and need not be scheduled or required by the employer." In other words, employers have total discretion about whether or not to provide such breaks.
However, if employers have an informal or formal policy of providing breaks – even when ranging from 5 to 59 minutes – an employee may be entitled to overtime pay and other damages under a theory of "off-the-clock" work if they are not allowed to leave their workstation to take a break.
Legal Penalties for Work Break Law Violations
Failure to comply with work break regulations in Idaho can have serious legal consequences for employers. If an employer does not provide the required 10-minute paid rest periods and 30-minute unpaid meal breaks, employees may file a lawsuit for unpaid wages.
The law in Idaho is very clear in this respect. As provided in Idaho Code § 72-1308, "seven and one-half (7 1/2) hours of work constitutes a day’s work. Eight (8) hours of work shall constitute a day’s work where required in the employment. Six (6) hours of work without a meal or a paid break shall constitute a day’s work where required in the employment." When an employee is required to work more than six hours in a day, he or she is entitled to an unpaid meal break of at least 30 minutes. If the employer requires the employee to work more than five hours in a day, the employee is also entitled to at least one paid 10-minute rest break for every four hours worked.
Claims for work breaks are usually brought as unpaid wages claims where the argument is that the wages include payment for 10 minute rest breaks and a 30 minute meal break. If the employer did not provide all the paid rest breaks and unpaid meal breaks, the argument is that the employee was unpaid for time worked in a way that has the same legal effect as unpaid wages under Idaho Code § 72-1308.
In Paynter v . T & R Contracting, 777 P.2d 821 (Idaho 1989), the Supreme Court of Idaho reinforced that Idaho law provides as an entitlement to pay the employees for rest breaks and meal breaks that are missed. Paynter involved a general contractor who was hired to build a house. Mr. Paynter, the party that was suing, operated his own plumbing business and contracted with defendants to do the plumbing on this particular house. The plumbing work was required to be completed before the walls were closed. Therefore, Mr. Paynter was hired to do the job and then had to stop the work and do it again if he did not complete it before the builders closed the walls. The contract called for one price regardless of the time Mr. Paynter spent per day doing the work.
As a result, Mr. Paynter did not take any breaks and then ended up doing the job again the next day. After Mr. Paynter finished the first time, he was informed that he would not be paid for the time spent on the first job. The basis for the decision was that under Idaho Law, Mr. Paynter was entitled to pay for work breaks.
When an employer is required to pay the employee for breaks and fails to do so, the plaintiff will usually allege causes of action for breach of contract and violation of Idaho wage laws. Employers may also be responsible for alleged lost wages, penalty wages and attorney fee.