My employer tells us that its mandatory that we take a lunch but we are not able to get in our vehicle to go anywhere. Can they still charge us the hour for lunch even if we are not able to leave to get anything to eat???

Under federal rules (see below), yes this is legal. Louisiana is not my state and I have no idea what rules (if any) the state has.

http://www.dol.gov/dol/allcfr/Title_29/Part_785/29CFR785.19.htm

I have worked for employers where I brought lunches to work. I worked for one employer who had around 1,000 factory workers, all of whom had exactly 1/2 hour lunches, strictly enforced. While it is nice to have the option to go out to lunch, it is not normally a legal requirement.

I agree with DAW. Why can't you bring your lunch? :confused:

I do bring my lunch. The problam I have is that most time we dont ever stop long enough to eat it. There have been days that we had to eat on the go. and they still charged us for the hour... We worked 13 hour day and only get paid for 12. Is that leagal??

Now, that's a different issue. Nonexempt employees must be paid for all hours worked.
http://www.dol.gov/dol/allcfr/ESA/Title_29/Part_785/29CFR785.13.htm
http://www.dol.gov/dol/allcfr/ESA/Title_29/Part_785/29CFR785.19.htm