Mandatory lunch break in federal job?

[Anonymous]

State Department also has a standard workday of 8:15 to 5 with a 45-minute mandatory lunch built in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Pp here. I've seen it. I work on investigations.

[Anonymous]

We work 8:30 -4:30 but one hour is unpaid lunch.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Pp here. I've seen it. I work on investigations.

I am not remotely concerned, nor should I be.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks for all the answers--I had no idea this was such a thorny issue. It seems like assuming a required 30 minute lunch is a safe bet. It makes things difficult as a parent when childcare is only 8am-6pm, it takes almost an hour to get to work, then can't leave until 5:30. I'd much rather bring my lunch and eat at my desk while working so I can leave at 5pm!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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

If you are working through your lunch and not reporting the time, then you are not correctly reporting your T&A. Time work is time paid. That's 30 minutes of OT you should claim. Bigger issue is why your unit or supervisor is not providing you the required break time, but if you're forced to work, then you need to be compensated for it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks for all the answers--I had no idea this was such a thorny issue. It seems like assuming a required 30 minute lunch is a safe bet. It makes things difficult as a parent when childcare is only 8am-6pm, it takes almost an hour to get to work, then can't leave until 5:30. I'd much rather bring my lunch and eat at my desk while working so I can leave at 5pm!

You should screen for this in your interview process. I work for State and there’s 45 minutes built in. It is definitely not acceptable to leave after 8 hours even if you eat at your desk.

[Anonymous]

Not to change the topic, but my agency provides 2 15-minute paid breaks, and I think many others do. Does your agency enforce taking those breaks? One of my friends at another agency combines those to "cover" the unpaid 30 minute lunch, which isn't allowed per se but she says everyone does it.

[Anonymous]

We have a forced 30 minute unpaid lunch but many people will take a whole hour, which is fraudulent in my opinion but supervisors don't bat an eye.

[Anonymous]

We have a forced 30 minute unpaid lunch but many people will take a whole hour, which is fraudulent in my opinion but supervisors don't bat an eye.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not to change the topic, but my agency provides 2 15-minute paid breaks, and I think many others do. Does your agency enforce taking those breaks? One of my friends at another agency combines those to "cover" the unpaid 30 minute lunch, which isn't allowed per se but she says everyone does it.

Your friend is commiting time card fraud.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not to change the topic, but my agency provides 2 15-minute paid breaks, and I think many others do. Does your agency enforce taking those breaks? One of my friends at another agency combines those to "cover" the unpaid 30 minute lunch, which isn't allowed per se but she says everyone does it.

Your friend is commiting time card fraud.

I don't know if it's the same poster doing this, but someone is throwing out the "fraud" word very liberally, which is different from non-compliance with T&A policy.

Fraud is the intentional misreporting of time to the government in order to gain unearned benefit. Coming into the office for 1 hour and charging 8 hours is clear fraud. Not working on a telework day is fraud. Charging 3 hrs OT when leaving after 8 hours is fraud. I get that.

Performing work at the wrong time per policy, however, isn't a clear case of fraud. The key distinction is work being performed. The IG is after people who are charging time and not working. If you are working and have evidence of work being performed, timecard fraud is not going to be the conclusion.

Also, for all the people working through lunch and not reporting the time, isn't that technically timecard fraud? Isn't it illegal to work for free for the government?

Bottom line: report your time accuracy and in a manner that can be justified and you'll be fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have a forced 30 minute unpaid lunch but many people will take a whole hour, which is fraudulent in my opinion but supervisors don't bat an eye.

You get a 15 minute break every 4 hours for free. If you combine those you get an hour lunch. That's not time sheet fraud. Time sheet fraud is leaving after only 8 hours like private sector gets to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not to change the topic, but my agency provides 2 15-minute paid breaks, and I think many others do. Does your agency enforce taking those breaks? One of my friends at another agency combines those to "cover" the unpaid 30 minute lunch, which isn't allowed per se but she says everyone does it.

Your friend is commiting time card fraud.

I don't know if it's the same poster doing this, but someone is throwing out the "fraud" word very liberally, which is different from non-compliance with T&A policy.

Fraud is the intentional misreporting of time to the government in order to gain unearned benefit. Coming into the office for 1 hour and charging 8 hours is clear fraud. Not working on a telework day is fraud. Charging 3 hrs OT when leaving after 8 hours is fraud. I get that.

Performing work at the wrong time per policy, however, isn't a clear case of fraud. The key distinction is work being performed. The IG is after people who are charging time and not working. If you are working and have evidence of work being performed, timecard fraud is not going to be the conclusion.

Also, for all the people working through lunch and not reporting the time, isn't that technically timecard fraud? Isn't it illegal to work for free for the government?

Bottom line: report your time accuracy and in a manner that can be justified and you'll be fine.

No. you can work as much extra as you want to. You cannot leave before 8.5 hours. We need very senior approval for overtime. I've never gotten it in 10 years as a fed.

[Anonymous]

My agency has a mandatory 30 minute lunch built into work schedules which actually makes it very inflexible with daycare. My wife and I have to stagger schedules to make it work. We used to get paid 15 minute breaskes but some dbag in OCC researched the issue and found whatever DOL regs support 15 min does not apply to us.