Enjoy lunch breaks? How you could lose rest benefits if KY Bill 500 is passed in Kentucky.
Kentucky House Bill 500 was recently passed by a House of Representatives' Small Business and Information Technology Committee − a 9-4 vote − is now headed to the House floor for a full chamber vote.
The bill focuses on employee lunch and rest breaks, as well as other employee benefits enforced by Kentucky labor laws.
Could Kentucky lose lunch breaks?: Bill repealing right to breaks advances
Here's what you need to know about HB 500 in Kentucky:
What is KY HB 500?
Kentucky Rep. Phillip Pratt, R-Georgetown, is the committee chair and owner of a landscaping business called Pratt's Lawn and Landscape.
The bill aims to:
Eliminate required lunch breaks
Eliminate required rest breaks
Eliminate time-and-a-half overtime pay for working 7 days in a row.
Statute of limitations for bringing employment lawsuits decreases from five to three years.
Pratt sponsored HB 500 and claims his efforts are to "modernize" Kentucky labor law so it will match federal law. He's also the sponsor of HB 255 − a bill threatening to weaken the state's child labor laws.
Employers can still provide lunch breaks and rest periods by choice, according to Pratt, a practice his company plans to continue.
However, an employment law attorney, organized labor groups and more are crying foul over the proposition.
Michele Henry, a Louisville employment law attorney at Craig Henry PLC, referred to the bill as “simply unfair to employees who are spending eight or more hours a day at the workplace.
"They should be entitled to time off to eat and to engage in other activities. Eliminating breaks increases the chance of injuries and burnout."
'Fight until our very last breath': Unions rally against bill weakening child labor law
Kentucky lunch breaks bill amendment made by sponsor Rep. Phillip Pratt
On Monday, March 4, Pratt walked back his initial offering afer an outcry from labor groups and phone call and emails from concerned constituents.
The floor amendment as originally written would have repealed Kentucky laws requiring that workers get meal and rest breaks.
The bill, if amended, would:
Eliminate time-and-a-half overtime pay for working 7 days in a row.
Decrease the statute of limitations for bringing employment lawsuits from five to three years.
“I guess I was surprised by the outcry because actually my attempt was to simplify Kentucky labor law to make it so small businesses could keep from getting themselves in trouble,” Pratt told The Courier Journal.
Pratt claims the new version strengthens workers’ rights because it requires employers to relieve workers from any work duties while taking a meal break and to pay workers if they end up having to eat while working.
Pratt was uncertain when the bill could come up for a floor vote.
Does federal labor law require lunch breaks?
No, according to the dol.gov. Lunch and coffee breaks are not required by federal law. However, short breaks consisting of 5 to 20 minutes when offered by employers are to be considered compensable work hours that would be included in the sum of hours worked during the workweek and considered in determining if overtime was worked.
Meal periods of around 30 minutes are considered to serve a different purpose than coffee or snack breaks, according to the website. Hence, lunch breaks are not considered work time and are not compensable.
Can I work 8 hours without a lunch break in Kentucky?
No. Currently, it is required by Kentucky law for employers to give workers an unpaid lunch break in the middle of their shift.
Do you have to take a 30-minute lunch break in Kentucky?
Yes. Kentucky law currently indicates an unpaid lunch break must be provided no sooner than 3 hours after a shift begins and nor later than 5 hours after the start of a shift. Exceptions can be made through a collective bargaining agreement or mutual agreement between the employee and employer.
Are rest breaks mandatory in Kentucky?
Yes. Rest breaks are currently required in the state of Kentucky at 10 minutes over every 4 hours worked.
KY HB 500 concerns
Rep. Susan Witten, R-Louisville, broke with her party and passed on voting as expressed concern over the bill’s “unintended consequences.”
The bill, even if amended with Pratt's new language, could still allow employers not to pay employees for travel between sites during the workday, Henry said.
According to Henry, the number of lawsuits filed by employees who think they've been underpaid could also be on the rise since the statute of limitations for bringing employment lawsuits would be changed by the bill from five to three years.
This means employers who underpay employees would have to pay back lost wages for only three years instead of five. Resolutions with employers will likely be replaced by increased lawsuits.
Chris Sims is a digital content producer at Midwest Connect Gannett. Follow him on Twitter: @ChrisFSims.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: KY Bill 500: How a Kentucky bill is attacking lunch breaks, rest
