LEGAL ISSUES
Take Five
When it comes to breaks for both part-time and
full-time employees, there are several things to keep
in mind. In California, Colorado, Kentucky, Nevada,
Oregon and Washington, employees are entitled to a
paid 10-minute break for every four hours worked. For
employees in most states, this time is also ���gured into
calculations for overtime pay.
Websites of State Labor
Departments
Alabama alalabor.state.al.us
Alaska labor.state.ak.us
Arizona ica.state.az.us
Arkansas arkansas.gov/labor
California dir.ca.gov/dlse/
Colorado coworkforce.com
Connecticut ct.gov/dol
Delaware delawareworks.com
District of Columbia does.dc.gov
Florida ���oridajobs.org
Georgia dol.state.ga.us
Hawaii hawaii.gov/labor/
Idaho labor.idaho.gov
Illinois state.il.us/agency/idol
Indiana in.gov/labor
Iowa iowaworkforce.org/labor
Kansas dol.ks.gov
Kentucky labor.ky.gov
Louisiana laworks.net
Maine state.me.us/labor
Maryland dllr.state.md.us
Massachusetts mass.gov/eolwd
Michigan michigan.gov/lara
Minnesota doli.state.mn.us
Mississippi mdes.ms.gov
Missouri labor.mo.gov
Montana dli.mt.gov
Nebraska dol.nebraska.gov
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Nevada laborcommissioner.com
New Hampshire nh.gov/labor/
New Jersey lwd.dol.state.nj.us/
New Mexico dws.state.nm.us
New York labor.state.ny.us
North Carolina nclabor.com
North Dakota nd.gov/labor
Ohio com.state.oh.us
Oklahoma ok.gov/odol/
Oregon oregon.gov/boli
Pennsylvania dli.state.pa.us
Rhode Island dlt.ri.gov
South Carolina llr.state.sc.us
South Dakota sd.gov/
Tennessee state.tn.us/labor-wfd
Texas twc.state.tx.us
Utah laborcommission.utah.gov
Vermont labor.vermont.gov
Virginia doli.virginia.gov
Washington lni.wa.gov
West Virginia wvlabor.com/newwebsite/pages/index.html
Wisconsin dwd.state.wi.us
Wyoming wyomingworkforce.org/
pages/default.aspx
Guam dol.guam.gov
Puerto Rico dtrh.gobierno.pr
Virgin Islands vidol.gov
Slightly fewer than half the states require a 30-minute
unpaid lunch break if employees work a minimum of
���ve or six hours a day. Earlier this year, the California
Supreme Court found in favor of employers in how
lunch breaks are administered. Prior to the case, states
put the onus of keeping employees from working during
a lunch break on the employer. The recent court case
stipulates that employers do indeed have to provide a
meal break, but they do not have to monitor what the
employee is doing while on that break.
In Delaware, employees who work a minimum of
7�� hours a day receive a 30-minute unpaid lunch
break. Minors in that state get their break after only
���ve hours. There may be additional rules governing
minors in your state, so be sure to clarify this
with your state���s labor department.
Bene���ts and Pay
Bene���ts���such as health care,
vision care, dental, vacation, sick
time, gym memberships and
so on���are often important recruiting tools and
have also been shown to
increase employee retention. However, there are
no federal laws requiring
employers to offer those
same bene���ts to part-time
workers. Your practice
may choose to extend
these bene���ts to your parttimers as a sign of appreciation for their efforts, but it
is not a federal requirement. The only exception is
if your practice provides a retirement or pension plan.
The Employee Retirement Income Security Act dictates
that if an employee works 1,000 or more hours in a calendar year, that employee should be offered the same
pension plan that full-time employees receive. Otherwise, it is entirely up to you which bene���ts you provide
to part-time associates.
Typically, part-timers are paid on an hourly basis and
are not eligible for overtime pay. However, part-time
employees in certain states���such as Alaska, California
and Colorado���may be entitled to overtime pay if they
work more than a certain number of hours in a single
day, even if they work only one day a week.
In order to ensure that you are respecting state and
federal laws, excellent recordkeeping is a must (see
"FLSA Recordkeeping" on page 26 for the minimum
requirements). Maintain your documentation in a central
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Although the de���nition of part-time status is not
spelled out by the federal government, all employees���part-time and full-time���are covered by U.S. laws
concerning child labor, safety, work-related injuries,
harassment and discrimination. In addition, employees
who work more than 1,250 hours in a year are eligible
for leave under the Family Medical Leave Act. Your state
may also have additional regulations that go beyond
what the federal rules mandate.