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[–] 68 points 6 months ago (21 children)
  • [–] 35 points 6 months ago* (18 children)

    If it is, I think it's illegal in the US at least. By law I think employers are required to give at least one 30 minute break a day.

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  • [–] 25 points 6 months ago (3 children)

    Employees have rights in the US?

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  • [–] 14 points 6 months ago (2 children)

    Some of us do, and our employers hate it and try to keep us from knowing/using those rights

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  • [–] 23 points 6 months ago (9 children)

    Only in some states. There is no federal law mandating breaks or meals.

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  • [–] 17 points 6 months ago (2 children)

    This is why I don’t goto Buc-ees when traveling. They only operate in states with little to no worker protection and they do not allow their employees to have any breaks. Yes they pay a few dollars more per hour but absolute abuse their employees. So as nice as their mega gas stations are , they will never get another dollar from me.

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  • [–] 9 points 6 months ago*

    The buc-ee's simping is so weird to me. It's just a gas station with a gift shop. Like, I get it, it's got nice bathrooms, nobody is disagreeing, but so many road trips with big groups somebody wants to go there and spend like 30 minutes shopping. I hate it.

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  • [–] 10 points 6 months ago* (1 child)

    Quite surprising that it's based on state law, rather than something that's mandated by the US Federal government. Employers being able to forbid their employees from having lunch unless their particular state, or medical requirements force their hand does not seem like a legal thing.

    It does track, since the US was also one of the few countries that does not consider food to be a mandatory right (their official justification here), but still.

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  • [–] 12 points 6 months ago

    I don't find it surprising at all.

    The whole idea of breaks during the work day came from early-day capitalists (check out Factory Act and how it came to be. And for those who don't want to/can't - it wasn't from the goodness of their hearts, they noticed that their workers were making too many costly mistakes, like getting themselves rolled into heavy machinery and dying, so they asked doctors to "figure this shit out". The Factory Act is the earliest iteration of what eventually became OSHA), some of whom showed at least a semblance of honour, and following the actual tenets of capitalism (giving back to the community).

    It became the "everybody knows this" kind of thing.

    Then times have changed. Today's capitalists are a bunch of babies with way too much power, who don't know how they came to be, or why the "gentleman rules" that were in place happened. All they see is that if someone takes a 30 minute break, they're not working for 30 minuts (making shareholders cry! :( ).

    The federal government didn't need to mandate this, because "everybody did this anyway", and if one state was having issues, it mandated that on their own.

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  • [–] 0 points 6 months ago (3 children)

    There isn't a state where there is no mandatory unpaid meal break.

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  • [–] 0 points 6 months ago (2 children)

    Yes, all states mandate meal breaks except Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming (source)

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  • [–] 3 points 6 months ago

    Like everything, it depends on how influential the company is.

    I reported a restaurant job for wage theft, and when I was terminated, got a nice paycheck from the local government a few months later.

    Major telecom company that rhymes with Bomcast as customer service. I had a manager demand that work means "when you're at your desk", so lunch, walking to your desk, bathroom breaks, aren't supposed to be tracked as work. People we're eating at their desk and working just to meet the definition.

    Lawsuit went nowhere.

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  • [–] 3 points 6 months ago (2 children)

    “Illegal” who enforces that lol. You complain to get fired unless you have a legal team ready to go against a corrupt corporation. I’ve watched companies break all kinds of laws my entire life and it’s about to get a whole lot worse.

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