Question:
FORCED LUNCH -My supervisor wants me to take a 30 minute lunch even though she knows
about my medical needs to eat small amounts every few hours. Anyone have suggestions on how to deal with this and get an exemption from my employer? I am seeing my PCP on Monday and am going to ask her to write a letter but I know I will need more. Thanks, A — Ann B. (posted on June 4, 2004)
June 4, 2004
As far as I know, at least in New York, it is a law that states that you
have to be given at least a 30 mins lunch hour if you work more than 6 1/2
hrs. So that may be the reason for her "forcing" you to take
lunch. Are you able to eat at your work station? Can you keep small
snacks, like cheese or yogurt or peanut butter at your area? See what you
can work out with her. She might just be following the law. Good Luck to
you :-)
— KellyJeanB
June 4, 2004
Take the thirty minutes and go for a walk.
— Angela A.
June 4, 2004
There are state and federal laws that govern time-off during the work day,
especially if you work 8 hours a day or 40 hours per week. I'd check with
your state employment office and tell them the number of hours you work and
ask them what the requirements are for taking time off during the day. Some
require 15 minutes for every 2 hours worked, some require 15 minutes for
every 4 hours. Be sure and check your state laws though, those are most
likely what they are enforcing.
— Shayna T.
June 4, 2004
Its a federal law you HAVE to take lunch.... BUT I still cant see where you
would have an trouble... MOST people also at least (2) breaks. I know when
I was eating mini meals - every 3 hours it worked out just fine... BUT if
you dont, can you eat at your desk? if so bring string cheese or
something.. IF THAT isnt an option, then the ADD act would come into play
I suppose your doctor could write that due to medical reasons you need to
eat every x of hours.
— star .
June 5, 2004
So is she not allowing you to eat at times other than the designated half
hour lunch? If this is the case, find out what the company policy is - she
may just be trying to get you to comply to her rules and not the companies.
If the company does not have a written policy, then you can approach her
with the letter of medical necessity. If it is a company policy, you need
to find out who to speak with to get an exemption. Good Luck!
— Ali M
June 5, 2004
Can you have food at your work station or if you are on an assembly line
can you have food? If you can, try bringing premixed protein shakes or
things like string cheese and crackers, cheese chunks, cottage cheese,
small containers of yogurt, nuts, peanut butter to spread on an apple or a
rice cake just to name a few. Bring a small cooler to work with the items
that need to be kept cool. You can have many of the food items that I
mentioned on the fly and that would count as a snack and help with the food
that you need every few hours. Good luck.
— ChristineB
June 5, 2004
Let see if you eat right before you get into work let say it 8:00. Then
you could wait until 12:00 have
your half-hour lunch and then eat when you stop working. That would give
you your small meals every few hours. I don't know if you get a coffee
break between then or 2 what you could also have something small then. It
seems to me that that your boss is concerned that you will take advantage
of your situation. Rather than trying to have a confrontation with him you
might consider being gentle. Try explaining that you're not talking about
having 4 or 5 lunch hours a day but one additional 10 minute break that you
will make up at the end of the day. I hope that this works for you
— Robert L.
June 6, 2004
Your supervisor sounds unreasonable and I would be surprise if a letter
would convince her otherwise. People like this have to micromanage other
people's lives as they usually have no control of their own. Most states
have a law about taking a break after some are 5 mins out of every hour, or
every 2-3 hours and I would request to include my "lunch" into my
15 min breaks. Also go online look up the labour laws for your state.
People who have jobs sitting face grave danger in getting clots if they
never are allowed to stand up and walk around for about 5 mins. You can
also note that people who smoke are allowed "smoking breaks."
— Anna M.
June 11, 2004
I honestly cannot see the problem here. I could see if they were denying
you a lunch break.... I eat before work, (in the car on the way since I
start at 7 am. I take lunch around 1100, then I get off at 3:30 and have a
snack. I eat dinner at around 6, then a small snack before bed. 5 meals
and working with in the demands of my job. I do not believe in asking for
special treatment. I think your employer is not making any unfair demands.
You should try to work with in the system.
— **willow**
June 11, 2004
I'm not sure exactly what your question is. Are you saying you only get
the 30 minutes all day that you can have anything to eat? Most companies
do have some sort of break allowance, whether it's a scheduled time or just
allow you a few minutes to go for a cup of coffee or a bathroom break.
Make the most of this time. If nothing else, take a canned protein shake.
I have always managed to eat right before I get to work, take a string
cheese or part of a protein shake mid-morning and have my lunch. And if I
need more, an afternoon snack. We can "snack" at our desks, but
even if we didn't, with just 5 minutes a couple of times a day should be
sufficient. If you are actually asking for additional time that other
employees aren't allowed just because you are a post-op patient, I can't
say I agree with that. As a supervisor myself, if every employee wanted
extra time off every day for one reason or another, it would make running
an office/company pretty hard. I'm not being a hard***, just being
realistic.
— lharbison
June 22, 2004
I had a similar situation with my previous employer. Before the X-mas
holidays, I was getting an hour lunch, which worked out very well for me
because it is extremely difficult for me to eat lunch in 30 minutes. After
the holidays, I was put on a 30 minute lunch and it sucked big ones. Also,
we could only eat certain things at our desks, so snacking on my lunch
after my lunch break was over was out of the question. I would advise you
to speak to your supervisor again and if you cannot resolve the situation
with her, you may want to try speaking with HR to see if it can be resolved
through them. Good Luck!!
— Michele A.
June 22, 2004
Original Poster Here: My PCP wrote a letter to my Human Relations
Department. They agreed to let me have my snacks throughout the day and
not take a forced 30 minute lunch. Thanks for all the support. Ann
— Ann B.
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