Policy 803 - Meals and Breaks

Section: Work Environment
Policy Number: 803
Responsible Office: HR/HR Services
Effective Date: 4/1/01
Revised: 6/30/02; 9/10/12

Scope

This policy applies only to full-time non-exempt employees (generally, staff employees).

Policy

Office staff employees are provided one hour for lunch Monday through Thursday. On Fridays, because of the shortened workday, a half hour is provided for lunch. The lunch period is not part of the paid workday. Lunch periods are normally scheduled between 12:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. These periods should be staggered to ensure coverage of the department. Employee classifications that maintain work schedules that vary from normal office hours may have different meal and break provisions. For example, Public Safety Officers and Building Attendants, who have a 37.5 hour workweek, are provided with a half hour meal break each day.

Some positions may necessitate short work breaks during the day. At the discretion of the supervisor, an employee may be permitted to take a morning and afternoon work break not to exceed 15 minutes each. These paid breaks are not cumulative, may not be added to the lunch hour, and may not be taken during the first or last fifteen minutes of the workday.

An employee who works for a period beginning before 11:00 a.m. and ending after 7:00 p.m. is entitled to an additional meal break of 20 minutes between 5:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. An employee who works more than 11 consecutive hours will be paid a $10.00 supper allowance. Procedures for recording time correctly may be found in policy #306 Time Records.

St. John's University, New York
Human Resources Policy Manual