I am not a lawyer, but my guess is 20 minutes. In general, you should
be given a "lunch break" after a certain number of hours. Since 7p-12a
is only 5 hours, any other "shift", if consecutive, could actually be
considered consecutive time. Although, it's probable that the next
day's shift might be considered as "new time" for the new day.
Here's the Federal Labor Law info..
http://www.dol.gov/esa/regs/compliance/whd/whdfs22.htm
Quoted from the page:
"Rest and Meal Periods: Rest periods of short duration, usually 20
minutes or less, are common in industry (and promote the efficiency of
the employee) and are customarily paid for as working time. These
short periods must be counted as hours worked. Unauthorized extensions
of authorized work breaks need not be counted as hours worked when the
employer has expressly and unambiguously communicated to the employee
that the authorized break may only last for a specific length of time,
that any extension of the break is contrary to the employer's rules,
and any extension of the break will be punished. Bona fide meal
periods (typically 30 minutes or more) generally need not be
compensated as work time. The employee must be completely relieved
from duty for the purpose of eating regular meals. The employee is not
relieved if he/she is required to perform any duties, whether active
or inactive, while eating.
Sleeping Time and Certain Other Activities: An employee who is
required to be on duty for less than 24 hours is working even though
he/she is permitted to sleep or engage in other personal activities
when not busy. An employee required to be on duty for 24 hours or more
may agree with the employer to exclude from hours worked bona fide
regularly scheduled sleeping periods of not more than 8 hours,
provided adequate sleeping facilities are furnished by the employer
and the employee can usually enjoy an uninterrupted night's sleep. No
reduction is permitted unless at least 5 hours of sleep is taken." |
