An Overview of Kansas Labor Laws
The labor laws in Kansas govern virtually all aspects of the employer/ employee relationship in Kansas, providing guidance and protection for both full-time and part-time employees. Kansas has labor laws governing minimum wage, overtime payments, meal and rest breaks, and safe and healthy workplace standards. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) governs wage and hour requirements in Kansas, including those related to pay, breaks and work hours. The Kansas Department of Labor enforces the FLSA and oversees other Kansas workplace laws related to safety and health standards, unemployment insurance, workers’ compensation and wage and hour.
Certain exceptions or exemptions exist under Kansas labor laws that allow employers to avoid some state and federal employment laws. Some Kansas employees may not be entitled to all the benefits of the various employment laws. However , entitlements vary depending on applicable Kansas labor laws and levels of authority over an employment situation.
All Kansas employers are required to pay all employees at least the minimum wage and time and a half for all hours worked over 40 hours per week. It is important to understand the Kansas minimum wage and overtime laws for your particular occupation and industry. Kansas has child labor laws with which all Kansas employers and employees must comply.
Kansas labor laws require that employers provide their employees with meal and rest breaks and that employers compensate their employees for all hours worked. Employers are only required to pay employees for hours actually worked. However, certain provisions within the FLSA and other Kansas labor laws may extend to encompass additional activities not considered work.
Are Lunch Breaks Required in Kansas?
Under Kansas law, employers are not required to provide employees lunch breaks. Unlike rest breaks which are regulated by regulations, lunch breaks are not even addressed in the regulations. Therefore, unless specified in the company code of conduct or handbook or collective bargaining agreement, breaks and lunches are not mandated under state law.
Federal law is slightly different. The standards for meal breaks are issued by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Amongst other things, the FLSA governs lunch breaks for employees working as a private employer. Generally speaking, an employer does not need to compensate an employee for time away from work, but they must maintain records during work hours. The DOL statute, 29 U.S.C. 203(m), states that employers do not need to pay employees for bona fide work breaks if the break generally does not exceed 20 minutes. Lunch breaks of over 30 minutes are not considered to be compensable work time if the employee can use the time freely for whatever they wish.
What Are the Employer’s Responsibilities and the Employee’s Rights?
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) does not require employers to provide breaks, including lunch breaks. If employers do provide a break lasting 5 minutes or less, the employees must be fully relieved of their work duties during that time. If breaks last longer than 5 minutes, but less than 20 minutes, they are paid time if the employee is relieved of all work duties. When an employer provides a meal break, generally speaking, the employer does not have to pay for the lunch unless the employee is unable to get relief from work duties. For example, if the employee eats lunch at his or her desk and is required to work during lunch, the employer must pay for that time. On the other hand, if the employer relieves the employee of all work duties, the employer does not have to pay for that meal break.
Employers in Kansas must comply with the Kansas Minimum Wage Act (KMWA), which requires employers to provide meal and hot-weather breaks. Employers who operate factories, mercantile establishments, public accommodations and institutions must provide their employees a 30-minute meal break after 6 consecutive hours of work. The employer may not require the employee to remain on the premises during the meal break, but may require the employee to clock out. Employers also must provide employees a 10-minute break for every 3 hours of consecutive work. If employers have a hot-food preparation area and employ at least 3 employees, then at least one room must be available for employees to relax and eat a snack or meal. The room must be furnished with running water, food storage facilities and seating for 3. Additionally, at least 1 window or other device must be present to allow the employees to hear and see customers. Employees may not work more than 6 hours consecutively without such a break or meal period. These requirements only apply to employees over the age of 14. There are no Kansas laws that require that employees must receive mandated breaks, except in the above-indicated circumstances.
Effects of Lunch on Employee Health
Eating is not just a necessity; it can also be a significant boost to productivity. The author of The Productivity Project: Accomplishing More by Managing Your Time, Chris Bailey, states that, "Research has shown that people who take breaks are more productive than those who don’t, and that the more often people take breaks during their work, the longer they’re able to work without losing focus." He goes on to cite Workplace researcher and writer Angela Watson, who states that eating throughout the day with no real meal break puts your central nervous system on overdrive, adjusting the way your brain and body function. However, taking breaks to rest your body decreases stress and renews motivation while also allowing your brain to work more effectively.
Lunch breaks also have a significant impact on mental stability. A 2013 study by the research charity Dexterra claims that workers who take a break are happier and more energetic, even if the break was for just a few minutes.
Of course, these sorts of breaks can also benefit the employer. This idea is supported by Sara Soltani in her post on recruiting blog Cezar Chipshire "5 Ways Breaks At Work Can Benefit Your Company," which states, "…by allowing your employees to take mental breaks, you let them return to their work refreshed and better able to tackle any problem that crosses their desk, thus allowing them to be far more productive and efficient." Certainly, it is feasible to take longer breaks all at once so that the employee is more productive afterwards.
How to Handle Lunch Break Issues
If an employer does not provide a meal period or deducts time from an employee’s pay for a meal period not actually taken, a complaint may be filed with the Kansas Department of Labor. However, the KDOL cannot act in place of a civil action in district court. (K.S.A. 44-323) An employee may also sue for back pay and damages in district court. By statute, an employee must bring a claim within two years after the last act of discrimination. (K.S.A. 44-1019). These claims may also be pursued through the federal enforcement agency, the Wage-Hour Division of the US Department of Labor, by filing a form WH-58, available online at the following link: https://www.dol.gov/whd/forms/WH581.pdf?utm_source=Preview&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=whd Employees also have the ability to file a private lawsuit under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Employees can file these lawsuits in federal or state courts. (K.S.A. 44-319[a]; 29 U.S.C. § 216[b]). However, an employee who files a FLSA lawsuit must do so within two years of the last violation. (K.S.A. 44-319[a]; 29 U.S.C. § 255[a]). This period is extended to three years if the employer willfully violated the FLSA. (K.S.A. 44-319[b]; 29 U.S.C. § 255[b]). If an employee is successful , the court will award unpaid wages and overtime plus an additional amount for equal liquidated damages unless the employer can show it would be unreasonable to do so. Employees who are successful are entitled also to their reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs. An employee who believes that any of these employment rights have been violated, the most protective course is for the employee to file a claim with the Kansas Department of Labor. Although the KDOL will refer some cases to the Department of Labor’s federal counterpart, KHRS, in some cases KDOL may not. Each case is fact specific and falls within the discretion of the KDOL official. After the KDOL receives a complaint, the KDOL will conduct an investigation. This can take some time, especially if the KDOL finds multiple alleged violations in a large multi-state corporation which requires KDOL to move forward with formal steps requesting information from the home office and from other states. KHRS very likely will request the Delaware domicile of the employer to participate via conference phone or video conference call. Also, consider they may request documents or records from outside of the supervisory District of Kansas and from other states. The KDOL will conduct a conference and either try to mediate the complaint or issue a determination. There are no fees payable to KDOL.
Employer Strategies for Managing Work Breaks
When it comes to lunch and breaks, Kansas employers should be mindful of the following recommendations to facilitate helpful break time while protecting their business and employees.
Compliance: Ensure that you provide employees with legally mandated meal and rest breaks, if necessary. Require any unpaid-time employees to clock out before taking a meal break, and confirm that workers are actually resting during this time. If they continue to work through meal breaks, or if you decide to voluntarily pay them for time spent working during such breaks, ensure that you treat this time as working time by tracking and compensating it accordingly. Breaks, on the other hand, may be counted as hours worked only if worked is performed during the break.
Payment of employees: All Kansas employees of any age must be paid for all time during which they perform actual physical or mental labor. In other words, with all employees performing work, including a minor employee, there is no exception from the Kansas Labor Act for lunch periods, although exceptions are likely due in part to how meal and break time is tracked, and claims may still be made for work performed during these times. The Federal Portal-to-Portal Act provides a good-faith defense to employers who provide work time that is not required to be paid under Kansas law, but there are no federal exceptions to the requirement to provide non-productive meal periods.
Conclusion: Be Informed and Protected
It is vital for employees to stay informed about the laws that protect their rights to ensure that they are receiving these legally assured breaks (along with all the other benefits to which they are entitled). And for employers , a clear understanding of the standards and guidelines regarding break periods in Kansas will not only help you answer any questions your employees might have but also help you avoid inadvertent omissions and greater liability down the road. Staying up to date with changes in rules and regulations is an important part of that process, and beginning on April 1, 2019, all employers with fifty or more employees must include a written policy about their lunch break policy to their employee handbook.
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