In the last newsletter, my employer stated, quote, "FLSA does not mandate that an employer provide meal periods or breaks of any duration whether paid or unpaid. Paid breaks are scheduled and approved at the discretion of your supervisor...and are not "guaranteed". Furthermore, it says in bold print, "Since breaks are paid work time and may need to be interrupted...employees may not leave the campus work location during breaks for any reason, including smoking. " If you want to use meal periods to leave the campus to attend to personal business, you need to obtain approval from your supervisor...to ensure that you return to your department in a timely manner. Leaving campus during paid breaks...will be addressed through a corrective action."
Many of us feel that the administration goes a bit overboard. But the question remains: can they do it? Can they legally take our breaks away? Are they letting us have breaks because of their generosity? I doubt it. Why would they emphasize "...to ensure that you return...in a timely manner"? If we come back late, then it's a tardy, but why assume beforehand?
Aside from the possible letter of the law, many of us feel that we are being treated like children. I work in a hospital but if there were enough staffing, someone could always cover while the other is taking break. We are almost always short staffed, but that is another story altogether. Being short staffed is a part of cost cut down policy, so they have reduced the number of caregivers per patient and made it a new policy. FYI for those who don't know it: the hospitals are not about patient care. They are all about budget.
Any input is welcome. :confused:

Duplicate post.

I thought I forgot to click the Post button on my first try. I am new here so cut me a slack. Also, can you please post this one anyway, because it has more question than the first one did? Can you discard my first post? I am learning. Annie

Neither Federal nor Ohio law requires that you be provided with any breaks at all, so yes they are offering them voluntarily and yes they can take them away.

I thought it was that paid breaks can be taken away. I always thought that you have to be provided with a meal period if you work over six hours. I believe Wal Mart got in some pretty serious trouble for doing this. I'm not sure though..You would know better than me.