I work at a bank, and I've always been diligent about taking my 30 minute lunch and both 10 minute breaks. No other employee is, but if they want to work for free, that's on them.
We had a particular busy day one day, and I was unable to take either of my 10 minute breaks. This isn't the first time this has happened. In the past, I've tried to attempt to go home early or come in late the following day to stay at 40 hours, but I've always been met with resistance.
I eventually got frustrated, and simply added the 20 minutes to my time sheet for my missed breaks. Boss saw this and said that this was wage theft. She said that if I don't take my breaks, that is on me. Anyone who's ever worked in a customer facing role knows that breaks aren't always possible, or at least predictable. I wouldn't budge and refused to change the time, so she converted the extra time to “sick time”.
I don't know the legality of any of this. I've only been in the US for about 4 years (emigrated from Canada). Any advice is appreciated.