New Hampshire Meal Period Policy and Acknowledgement Form

Transcription

1 New Hampshire Meal Period Policy and Acknowledgement Form It is Sodexo s policy to comply with all state laws regarding meal periods, including those of the State of New Hampshire. Therefore, Sodexo adopts the following Meal Period Policy applicable to its nonexempt (hourly paid) employees who work in New Hampshire: Employees who work more than five consecutive hours are required to take a 30-minute, unpaid, duty-free meal period. The meal period must start before the employee completes five hours of work. Employees are entitled to an additional 30-minute meal period if they work more than five consecutive hours following the first meal period. If the employee s meal period is not indicated on a schedule, the employee s supervisor shall inform the employee of the time of the employee s meal period. Employees must clock or record out and in for their meal period and shall not perform any work duties during the meal period. Employees must take the meal period every day and may not waive it, except as permitted by law and approved by Human Resources. Employees who are unable or forget to clock or record out or in for a meal period must notify their supervisor immediately and record the missed punch on the Punch Exception Log, initial the entry, and have the supervisor or manager approve the entry by initialing the missed punch. Employees who are unable to take a meal period for any reason must notify their supervisor immediately. Employees who are not provided with a meal period as set forth in this Policy should contact their supervisor, manager or Human Resources representative immediately. If you have concerns about your meal periods, you can utilize Sodexo s Promise of Respect and Fair Treatment process or contact the Business Abuse Hotline to voice those concerns. Compliance with Sodexo s New Hampshire Meal Period Policy: Employees are expected to know and comply with Sodexo s New Hampshire Meal Period Policy. Violations include, but are not limited to: Failure to take meal periods as instructed. Failure to report missed meal periods. Failure to clock or record out and in for meal periods. 1 November 2013

2 Per the Sodexo Payment of Wages for All Hours Worked Policy, CP-217, accurate timekeeping of all work time and meal periods is critical. Employees who fail to comply with Sodexo s New Hampshire Meal Period Policy will be subject to constructive counseling, up to and including termination of employment. Employees who intentionally violate Sodexo s New Hampshire Meal Period Policy and/or the Payment of Wages for All Hours Worked Policy (i.e. misrepresent time worked) are subject to immediate termination of employment. Managers who fail to enforce and comply with Sodexo s New Hampshire Meal Period Policy will be subject to constructive counseling, up to and including termination of employment. Employees Covered by a Collective Bargaining Agreement: Employees in units covered by a collective bargaining agreement shall follow the terms of the applicable collective bargaining agreement pertaining to meal periods and/or rest breaks, if more generous than this Policy. If the applicable collective bargaining agreement is silent on the subject of meal periods and/or rest breaks, then this Policy or state law shall apply. Employees who have any questions concerning this Policy should contact their supervisor, manager or Human Resources representative. Employee Acknowledgement I acknowledge that this policy has been provided and explained to me. I understand and agree to follow this policy. Print Employee Name: Employee Signature/ Date: 2 November 2013

3 New Hampshire Meal Period Compliance Manager Oversight and Enforcement To comply with Sodexo s New Hampshire Meal Period Policy, managers must: Post the New Hampshire Meal Period Policy and Acknowledgement Form where other notices to employees are posted. Schedule and post employee meal periods. Provide a 30-minute duty free meal period to employees working more than 5 consecutive hours. The meal period must start before the employee completes five hours of work. An additional meal period is required if the employee works more than five consecutive hours following the return from the prior meal period. Remind employees when their meal periods are scheduled. Ensure coverage is available so that employees can take an uninterrupted 30 minute meal period. Ensure frontline (Class Codes 6, 8 and 9) and nonexempt, administrative, technical and professional employees (Class Codes 4 and 7) clock or record out and in for their 30-minute meal periods. Review time records on a daily basis if possible. Review the New Hampshire Meal Period Policy with new employees on the first day during orientation. Have the employee sign the Employee Acknowledgement at the end and place in the personnel file. If an employee refuses to sign the Employee Acknowledgement, sign and date the form yourself to indicate when you provided and reviewed the policy with the employee. Note on the document the employee s refusal to sign and place in the employee s personnel file. Review the requirements of the New Hampshire Meal Period Policy with existing employees on a regular basis. Enforce the policy. Hold employees accountable for taking their meal periods as required. Promptly take disciplinary action according to the Constructive Counseling process or the disciplinary procedures provided in the applicable collective bargaining agreement. Always act consistently. Sodexo relies on its managers to ensure it complies with New Hampshire s meal period requirements. Accordingly, managers who fail to comply with the policy will be subject to discipline up to and including termination of employment. If you have any questions about the policy or your responsibilities, contact your HR representative. November 2013

4 New Hampshire Meal Period Compliance Employee Constructive Counseling Employees are expected to know and comply with the Sodexo New Hampshire Meal Period Policy. Violations include, but are not limited to: Failure to take meal periods as instructed Failure to clock or record out and in for meal periods Failure to report missed meal periods to the supervisor or manager Employees who unintentionally fail to comply with Sodexo s New Hampshire Meal Period Policy will be subject to constructive counseling as follows: For initial violations, deliver a Written Coaching. For second violations, deliver a Written Warning, review the policy with the employee and have the employee sign the New Hampshire Meal Period Policy and Acknowledgement Form. For third violations, deliver a second Written Warning, review the policy with the employee and have the employee sign the Employee Acknowledgement again. For fourth violations, employees may be subject to termination. Review the facts with your Human Resources representative. Employees who intentionally violate the Sodexo New Hampshire Meal Period Policy (for example: misrepresent time worked) are subject to immediate termination of employment. All Constructive Counseling Notices must be placed in the employee s personnel file. Template Constructive Counseling Notices are provided to assist you in documenting written coaching and written warning actions. If you need assistance, contact your Human Resource representative. November 2013

5 NEW HAMPSHIRE MEAL PERIOD Q&A FOR MANAGERS Meal Periods Q1. Do employees have to punch/record out and in for meal periods? Q2. Can I require an employee to work through her meal period if I pay her for her time? Q3. Can I require an employee to take a meal period at her workstation? A. Absolutely. It is important documentation to confirm employees have received their 30-minute meal period as required by state law even if the employees get a paid meal. A. No. The employee is entitled to a 30-minute duty free meal period if the employee works more than 5 consecutive hours. Any time a meal period is missed or the employee is unable to take the full 30 minutes, the employee must be paid for the time worked or the short meal period. A. No. An employee must be relieved of all work duties during the 30-minute meal period. Q4. Can I allow an employee to work through his meal period so that he can leave work 30 minutes early? A. No. Working through a meal period does not entitle an employee to leave work prior to his scheduled quitting time. Q5. Can I allow my employee to waive her meal periods? A. The law allows an employee to waive the meal period if mutually agreed to by the employee and the manager. It must be completely voluntary and documented in writing. Please contact your 1

6 Human Resources representative for guidance and the New Hampshire Meal Period Waiver Agreement. If at some later date the emploee wishes to receive a meal period, any agreement would no longer be in effect and the meal period waiver form should be end dated. Q6. Can I require my employees to stay on the work premises during their meal periods? A. You cannot require employees to remain on the premises for their meal periods unless they are paid for their time. Requiring employees to remain on premises during their meal periods would deny them the time for their own purposes and they would, in effect, remain under the Company s control. Therefore, the meal period would have to be paid. If you do require employees to remain on premises a suitable place must exist for them to eat. Q7. All my employees start at the same time each day. Do I have to give them their meal period at the same time? A. No, employees do not have to have the same meal period if they start their shift at the same time. All employees meal periods should be scheduled and their meal periods started before they complete 5 hours of work. For example, some employees could be scheduled to start their meal period 4 hours into the shift and others 4 ½ hours into the shift. Staggering meal periods provides constant coverage in the unit 2

7 Q8. How do I ensure that employees are receiving and taking their required meal periods? A. Scheduling meal periods ensures employees receive their required meal periods. Review time records on a daily basis if possible. If the time records reveal: (1) no clocking or recording out and/or in for the 30-minute meal period, or (2) a meal period is less than 30 minutes, or (3) the meal period was started after the employee completed five hours of work: 1. Discuss the time record with the employee and record the reason on the time record. Have the employee sign or initial the notation on the Punch Exception Log, the print screen of the time card, or the Frontline Manual Timesheet. 2. If the employee states the missed, short or late meal period occurred because of personal reasons unrelated to work requirements proceed with the appropriate constructive counseling step using the Constructive Counseling Notice. Attach a copy of the time record with reason to the Constructive Counseling Notice. Remind the employee of the obligation to take meal periods according to Sodexo s New Hampshire Meal Period Policy and review the policy with the employee again. 3. If the employee states that he did, in fact, take a meal period but forgot to clock or record out or in, proceed with the appropriate constructive counseling step using the Constructive Counseling Notice. Attach a copy of the time record with reason to the Constructive Counseling Notice. Remind the employee of the obligation to take meal periods according to Sodexo's New Hampshire Meal Period Policy and to clock/record out and in for his meal periods. 4. Ensure all Punch Exception Logs and Manual Timesheets are maintained with other time records for the pay cycle. 3

8 Q9. Am I allowed to adjust the schedule for meals periods from one workday to the next, or does the meal period schedule need to be fixed? A. There is no requirement that the scheduling of meal periods be fixed. The law permits flexibility in scheduling meal periods on a day to day basis based on the employer's operational needs. This is to avoid interruption in the flow of work and to maintain continuous operations. The only restriction is to ensure the meal period is started before the employee completes five consecutive hours of work. Q10. If an employee starts a meal period, but is interrupted to do work, what should we do? A. If an employee must return to work early, the employee must be paid for the time the employee had clocked out prior to being interrupted. In etime on the Timecard screen - change a short meal period to a paid meal period by using pay code Meal Break Taken Paid. Do not delete the meal period punches. This pay code will change the time to paid time. In the Amount field, enter the number of minutes of the short meal period in the hh:mm format. In Labor Management, to pay the employee for the time, disable the short meal period punches. The punches will be stored in the background for audit purposes. Q11. How does the policy apply to employees who are scheduled for two shifts? A. Employees working two shifts are entitled to meal periods based on the number of hours in each individual work shift. For example, if an employee works four hours in the morning and another four hours in the late afternoon, the employee would not 4

9 be entitled to a 30-minute meal period on either shift. However, if the employee worked five and one half hours and then returned two hours later for another 4 hours, the employee would be entitled to one 30-minute meal period during the five and one half hour shift. Q12. What are employees entitled to if they work 10-hour shifts? A. Employees who are scheduled to work 10 hour shifts are entitled to at least one 30-minute meal period. It will depend on what time the first meal period is scheduled. If too early in the shift, the employee would have more than five hours of work following the meal period and require an additional meal period. Employees scheduled to work more than 10 hours, will require at least two meal periods. Additional meal periods would be dependent on total length of the shift and the number of work hours following each meal period. Employee Relations Q.13. What do I do if an employee refuses to sign the Employee Acknowledgement on the Sodexo New Hampshire Meal Period Policy? A. If an employee refuses to sign the Employee Acknowledgement, simply sign and date the Employee Acknowledgement yourself to indicate the date you provided and reviewed the policy with the employee. Note the employee s refusal to sign and place it in the employee s personnel file. You should remind the employee, however, that failure to follow the New Hampshire Meal Period Policy is grounds for constructive counseling, up to and including termination, and the employee s refusal to sign the Employee Acknowledgement does not excuse him or her from that obligation. 5

10 Q14. What do I tell employees who have questions about past failure to provide the meal periods outlined in the New Hampshire Meal Period Policy? A. If employees seek additional information about the reason for the Employee Acknowledgement or if they raise specific complaints about past practices, please tell them to contact their Human Resources representative directly and provide the employee with the HR contact information. Miscellaneous Q15. Does the state law and New Hampshire policy apply to my Admin Assistant and Chef (Class Code 4 positions)? They record their time in etime using Hours Time Entry View. A. Yes. New Hampshire state law and the Sodexo policy for meal periods do apply to administrative assistants and nonexempt chefs. It applies to all nonexempt (hourly paid) employees not just frontline employees recording their time on the In Touch time clocks, online using Timestamp View or on Labor Management time clocks. Q16. I manage client employees. Do I post Sodexo s policy and have employees sign the Employee Acknowledgement on the policy? A. No, you should not post a Sodexo policy or have the client employees sign a Sodexo employee acknowledgement. Consult with the client s Human Resources representative to discuss what resources they have available to educate and keep the employees informed of New Hampshire state requirements. 6

11 Q17. I have employees that use pagers for their work. How do I ensure they are not interrupted during their meal periods? A. Employees should be instructed to turn off or silence their pagers, radios, beepers etc. or give their communication devices to the manager or another employee and log out of any work assignment systems before the start of their meal periods. Refer to Sodexo s CP-217 Payment of Wages for All Hours Worked Policy for additional information. Q18. I supervise union employees. Do I implement this policy in my unit? A. You should check the collective bargaining agreement and see what it says about meal periods and rest breaks. If the collective bargaining agreement is more generous than Sodexo s policy and New Hampshire law, then follow the union contract. If New Hampshire law or Sodexo s policy is more generous than your union contract, follow the more generous requirements. If the union contract does not have a provision covering meal periods, then you should follow Sodexo s policy. However, before applying Sodexo s policy or distributing the New Hampshire Meal Period Policy and Acknowledgement Form to employees, you must consult with your Labor Relations representative. Additionally, when applying Sodexo's policy, you do not want to act contrary to any other part of the union contract. For example, any discipline under Sodexo s New Hampshire Meal Period Policy must be consistent with the disciplinary process provided in your union contract. Please consult your designated Labor Relations representative for information specific to your location. 7

12 Q19. Is there a poster on 30- minute meal periods? A. The required New Hampshire Protective Legislative Law (Rev. 8/27/13) poster refers to lunch or eating periods. In addition, the Sodexo New Hampshire Meal Period Policy and Acknowledgement Form must be posted in an area accessible to employees (i.e. on the employee bulletin board or near the time clock). The policy is available in English and Spanish. Q20. What are the consequences if I don t follow the New Hampshire Meal Period Policy? A. A manager has the responsibility to comply with the policy and state law. Failure to do so creates great risk for Sodexo. Claims for violations of New Hampshire meal period laws can be very costly. Centralized data analysis may be conducted to ensure compliance. Managers not complying with the policy will be subject to constructive counseling up to and including termination of employment. 8