DATE ISSUED
04/17/95

DATE REVISED
08/01/98

POLICY

Break and meal periods are intended to give an employee a chance to renew attention and energy after working for an extensive period so that he or she can remain productive and efficient in performing assigned tasks.

SCOPE

This policy applies to all hourly-paid employees of Saint Louis University.

PROCEDURE

The University provides the opportunity for an unpaid meal period of no less than 30 minutes for all shifts of more than seven hours. The actual time and length of the meal period will be scheduled by the supervisor. Meal periods are considered personal time, and employees are encouraged to leave the immediate work area in order to eat and relax. Time spent during the meal period is not considered work time for pay purposes unless specifically designated as a work period.

Breaks are considered time worked. Most jobs do not require or lend themselves to scheduled breaks, since employees are allowed to take a break when the need arises as work permits. Breaks may be scheduled, if necessary, due to the nature of a particular job which does not permit the opportunity for employee discretion or flexibility. Break time, whether scheduled or flexible, should not exceed 15 minutes in any four-hour work period. Breaks cannot be accumulated or saved. The intended purpose would not be fulfilled if they were not taken at the appropriate intervals; therefore, breaks may not be used to compensate for absences such as arriving late or leaving work early, or to extend meal periods.

Occasionally, due to operating requirements, supervisors may need to temporarily modify break and meal periods.

Hourly-paid staff may be required to work extra hours on a given workday. If this occurs, the supervisor may permit or require the employee to take an equal number of hours off within the same work week. Time off in lieu of overtime pay must be taken within the same work week and must have prior approval of the supervisor. SLU does not permit the accrual of compensatory time in lieu of payment for overtime. We may modify work schedules. The Fair Labor Standards Act requires that overtime hours worked in a week be paid at the overtime rate and not carried forward to future weeks as compensatory time.

Monthly paid staff are exempt from the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Exempt employees may enjoy greater scheduling flexibility than is true for hourly-paid staff, but compensatory time for all hours worked beyond 40 in a week is not appropriate.