Mandatory lunch break in federal job?

[Anonymous]

The way I understand it is that a half hour mandatory lunch is a federal requirement, but our agency makes it a full hour. I rarely get to take a real lunch break, so I end up working an extra hour. Thankfully, my direct boss is happy to look the other way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Mine is 30 min. Strictly enforced. We have to work 8.5 even though we rarely take a lunch. Hate it!

.

Please, where do you work that people rarely take a lunch break? Peolple at my agency rarely take less than an hour. I may eat at my desk, but that's only because I just came back from an hour+ at the gym.

On very rare occasions, it gets busy enough that I don't take much of a break, but that is quite uncommon.

Feds are often unfairly maligned, but they also seem to have quite a persecution complex and have an unrealistic sense of how hard they are working.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mine is 30 min. Strictly enforced. We have to work 8.5 even though we rarely take a lunch. Hate it!

.

Please, where do you work that people rarely take a lunch break? Peolple at my agency rarely take less than an hour. I may eat at my desk, but that's only because I just came back from an hour+ at the gym.

On very rare occasions, it gets busy enough that I don't take much of a break, but that is quite uncommon.

Feds are often unfairly maligned, but they also seem to have quite a persecution complex and have an unrealistic sense of how hard they are working.

No one in my office goes and sits in the cafeteria, and are usually eating at their desks, working. We're on a compound not near anything else, so,people also don't run out to do errands. It may be because we have a lot of parents in our office who need to get out at the end of the day, so we just want to get our work done. When I was younger, I'd come in at 7:30 and leave at 6, so I was more likely to go meet someone at the cafeteria for coffee. Now I get to work right after drop off and leave in time to pick up by the end of extended day.

[Anonymous]

We have a 30 minute break built into our schedules, but nobody enforces it. If I have to work through my lunch break, I leave after 8 hours. I'm not going to work 8.5 hours and get paid for 8. Most days I get my lunch break but some days it just doesn't happen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The way I understand it is that a half hour mandatory lunch is a federal requirement, but our agency makes it a full hour. I rarely get to take a real lunch break, so I end up working an extra hour. Thankfully, my direct boss is happy to look the other way.

an hour?? that really sucks. that would be cause to unionize.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mine is 30 min. Strictly enforced. We have to work 8.5 even though we rarely take a lunch. Hate it!

.

Please, where do you work that people rarely take a lunch break? Peolple at my agency rarely take less than an hour. I may eat at my desk, but that's only because I just came back from an hour+ at the gym.

On very rare occasions, it gets busy enough that I don't take much of a break, but that is quite uncommon.

Feds are often unfairly maligned, but they also seem to have quite a persecution complex and have an unrealistic sense of how hard they are working.

No one in my office goes and sits in the cafeteria, and are usually eating at their desks, working. We're on a compound not near anything else, so,people also don't run out to do errands. It may be because we have a lot of parents in our office who need to get out at the end of the day, so we just want to get our work done. When I was younger, I'd come in at 7:30 and leave at 6, so I was more likely to go meet someone at the cafeteria for coffee. Now I get to work right after drop off and leave in time to pick up by the end of extended day.

You used to work 7:30am - 6pm at a federal job?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have a 30 minute break built into our schedules, but nobody enforces it. If I have to work through my lunch break, I leave after 8 hours. I'm not going to work 8.5 hours and get paid for 8. Most days I get my lunch break but some days it just doesn't happen.

This is clear time card fraud and is incredibly easy to fire for. Watch out. All it takes is the new administration pulling computer logs or time card logs

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mine is 30 min. Strictly enforced. We have to work 8.5 even though we rarely take a lunch. Hate it!

.

Please, where do you work that people rarely take a lunch break? Peolple at my agency rarely take less than an hour. I may eat at my desk, but that's only because I just came back from an hour+ at the gym.

On very rare occasions, it gets busy enough that I don't take much of a break, but that is quite uncommon.

Feds are often unfairly maligned, but they also seem to have quite a persecution complex and have an unrealistic sense of how hard they are working.

I don’t go out either. Too much hassle, takes too long and too much money over time. I eat at my office as I go thru papers or emails.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mine is 30 min. Strictly enforced. We have to work 8.5 even though we rarely take a lunch. Hate it!

.

Please, where do you work that people rarely take a lunch break? Peolple at my agency rarely take less than an hour. I may eat at my desk, but that's only because I just came back from an hour+ at the gym.

On very rare occasions, it gets busy enough that I don't take much of a break, but that is quite uncommon.

Feds are often unfairly maligned, but they also seem to have quite a persecution complex and have an unrealistic sense of how hard they are working.

At a federal agency that schedules 4 one hour meetings in a day and they all run over because everyone is arguing about everything for months and months.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have a 30 minute break built into our schedules, but nobody enforces it. If I have to work through my lunch break, I leave after 8 hours. I'm not going to work 8.5 hours and get paid for 8. Most days I get my lunch break but some days it just doesn't happen.

This is clear time card fraud and is incredibly easy to fire for. Watch out. All it takes is the new administration pulling computer logs or time card logs

No it is not. Working 8 hour and charging 8 hours isn't called fraud; it's called accuracy. What are you talking about?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have a 30 minute break built into our schedules, but nobody enforces it. If I have to work through my lunch break, I leave after 8 hours. I'm not going to work 8.5 hours and get paid for 8. Most days I get my lunch break but some days it just doesn't happen.

This is clear time card fraud and is incredibly easy to fire for. Watch out. All it takes is the new administration pulling computer logs or time card logs

No it is not. Working 8 hour and charging 8 hours isn't called fraud; it's called accuracy. What are you talking about?

Technically, you are required to take the 30 minutes and are not allowed to leave after 8 hours, but I certainly wouldn't worry about time card fraud.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yep. You are required to work 8.5 hrs a day and only claim 8 regardless of whether you had time to eat or not

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I founght this and was told officially that it's the union who negotiated this awful lunch break as a perk for us. Thanks union? I would like to skip lunch or use my free 15 minute break to eat instead and gain extra time home with my kids.

I heard that the CIA got rid of the mandatory lunch break this year and doesn't force people to stay later. I'm hoping it spreads to other agencies.

I think ODNI did too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mine is 30 min. Strictly enforced. We have to work 8.5 even though we rarely take a lunch. Hate it!

.

Please, where do you work that people rarely take a lunch break? Peolple at my agency rarely take less than an hour. I may eat at my desk, but that's only because I just came back from an hour+ at the gym.

On very rare occasions, it gets busy enough that I don't take much of a break, but that is quite uncommon.

Feds are often unfairly maligned, but they also seem to have quite a persecution complex and have an unrealistic sense of how hard they are working.

No one in my office goes and sits in the cafeteria, and are usually eating at their desks, working. We're on a compound not near anything else, so,people also don't run out to do errands. It may be because we have a lot of parents in our office who need to get out at the end of the day, so we just want to get our work done. When I was younger, I'd come in at 7:30 and leave at 6, so I was more likely to go meet someone at the cafeteria for coffee. Now I get to work right after drop off and leave in time to pick up by the end of extended day.

You used to work 7:30am - 6pm at a federal job?

Yes, as did others. It was a professional job and work had to get done. It also involved a lot of thinking and writing, and it was easier to do that at either end of the day. I know you like to think that Feds are clockwatchers, but that's not true. It may also be why our agency also doesn't enforce the lunch break - they know they're getting the time out of us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My agency only gets 30 minutes. A lunch break is not required by law, but by agency policy. We can work through lunch once in a while with supervisory approval, but not as part of our regular schedule.

Same for us. So hours are 8:30 to 5:00. You can work through it but you don't get to leave early.