[Code of Federal Regulations]

[Title 29, Volume 3]

[Revised as of July 1, 2006]

From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access

[CITE: 29CFR785.19]



[Page 645-646]

 

                             TITLE 29--LABOR

 

         CHAPTER V--WAGE AND HOUR DIVISION, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

 

PART 785_HOURS WORKED--Table of Contents

 

                   Subpart C_Application of Principles

 

Sec.  785.19  Meal.



    (a) Bona fide meal periods. Bona fide meal periods are not worktime. 

Bona fide meal periods do not include coffee breaks or time for snacks. 

These are rest periods. The employee must be completely relieved from 

duty for the purposes of eating regular meals. Ordinarily 30 minutes or 

more is long enough for a bona fide meal period. A



[[Page 646]]



shorter period may be long enough under special conditions. The employee 

is not relieved if he is required to perform any duties, whether active 

or inactive, while eating. For example, an office employee who is 

required to eat at his desk or a factory worker who is required to be at 

his machine is working while eating. (Culkin v. Glenn L. Martin, 

Nebraska Co., 97 F. Supp. 661 (D. Neb. 1951), aff'd 197 F. 2d 981 (C.A. 

8, 1952), cert. denied 344 U.S. 888 (1952); Thompson v. Stock & Sons, 

Inc., 93 F. Supp. 213 (E.D. Mich 1950), aff'd 194 F. 2d 493 (C.A. 6, 

1952); Biggs v. Joshua Hendy Corp., 183 F. 2d 515 (C. A. 9, 1950), 187 

F. 2d 447 (C.A. 9, 1951); Walling v. Dunbar Transfer & Storage Co., 3 

W.H. Cases 284; 7 Labor Cases para. 61.565 (W.D. Tenn. 1943); Lofton v. 

Seneca Coal and Coke Co., 2 W.H. Cases 669; 6 Labor Cases para. 61,271 

(N.D. Okla. 1942); aff'd 136 F. 2d 359 (C.A. 10, 1943); cert. denied 320 

U.S. 772 (1943); Mitchell v. Tampa Cigar Co., 36 Labor Cases para. 65, 

198, 14 W.H. Cases 38 (S.D. Fla. 1959); Douglass v. Hurwitz Co., 145 F. 

Supp. 29, 13 W.H. Cases (E.D. Pa. 1956))

    (b) Where no permission to leave premises. It is not necessary that 

an employee be permitted to leave the premises if he is otherwise 

completely freed from duties during the meal period.



               Sleeping Time and Certain Other Activities