I’m in a predicament. I don’t mind my job at all, in fact I would like to stay at it since it’s so close to where I live, but It’s starting to feel like I’m slaving at my job.
In my state, you can exempt your 30-minute unpaid lunch, which you are encouraged to do upon being hired so you can get paid for your entire shift. If you exempt this unpaid lunch, you are entitled to a 15-minute paid break by your employer, unless it is feasible to eat while performing your job.
I work at a coffee shop, so it would technically be feasible to eat on the job. That is, if we were actually got a second to do so. Often times, my coworkers and I will make food and then we are u able to eat it for hours because it gets so busy in our store. Our employers also seem to think because our 15-minute breaks aren’t mandatory, they can refuse them.
I don’t want to leave this job because finding work where I live is hard, but going 8 hours without even a 5-minute in store break to eat is hard. I need a better work-life balance as well because working on your feet for 8-hours straight (we aren’t allowed to sit on the clock) is extremely draining. How can I make sure I get a break?