|
<
Library - Employment Law
Wage Claims, Overtime & Other Employee Compensation
ARE YOU BEING PAID PROPERLY FOR WORKING
SPLIT-SHIFTS?
|
Q:
I regularly work 12 hours
per day at a restaurant. My work day is divided into two
shifts. My first shift is between 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. I
have an unpaid break from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Then I have
to go back to work at 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. I am paid only
my regular hourly rate of $8 per hour for all the hours
I work for that day. Am I entitled to overtime or
additional pay? |
A:
Your employer gave you a split-shift
schedule. A split-shift is “any employer-established work schedule
interrupted by an unpaid non-working period, other than a bona fide
rest or meal period.” The way a split shift is set up is that
employees are scheduled to work a number of hours and this is
followed by a break usually lasting more than an hour. After the
break, the employee is told to come back to work and work an
additional number of hours.
Employees who
work a split shift schedule are entitled to be paid a premium one
hour’s pay at the minimum wage rate, which is currently $8 per hour.
This is in addition to the minimum wage rate paid to the employee.
The reason for this is that employees should receive a higher wage
in exchange for working outside the normal shift period. Split-shift
premium payments need to be paid only to employees who do not reside
at their place of employment. The employer is also mandated to keep
accurate time records showing when an employee begins and ends the
work periods, including split-shift intervals.
Another, and
perhaps more important, issue related to split-shifts is the
employee’s right to overtime payment. Employers must pay their
non-exempt employees one and one-half times their regular rate of
pay for all work in excess of 8 hours per day. This is true for the
split-shift employee described above.
There are
employers who use the split shift schedule to avoid paying overtime
premium to employees and yet, nevertheless, compel these employees
to work 10- to 14-hour days without overtime compensation. As in the
case above, the employee worked 6 hours during the first shift and
after a two-hour break, worked an additional 6 hours, which brings
the total work hours to 12. Here, the employee is entitled to be
paid 4 hours of overtime premium pay for the day.
Split-shift
employees are also entitled to a 30-minute uninterrupted meal break
for every 5 hours of work per day. If employees work 10-hour days,
they are entitled to two 30-minute breaks. Each break should be
provided after every 5 hours of work. Also, employees must be
provided paid rest breaks of at least 10-minute duration for every 4
hours of work, or a major fraction of 4 hours. An employee who works
at least 8 hours per day is entitled to two 10-minute rest breaks.
An employee who works 12 hours per day is entitled to three
10-minute rest breaks.
If an employer fails to provide an employee a meal
period or rest period in accordance with the law, the employer shall
pay the employee one additional hour of pay at the employee's
regular rate of compensation for each work day that the meal or rest
period is not provided.
Employees who believe that they are working split-shifts or are
working more than 8 hours per work day and are not properly
compensated should consult with an experienced employment attorney
to determine whether they are entitled to additional pay.
©
Law Offices C. Joe Sayas, Jr.
|
