Lunch isn't just a meal in between breakfast and dinner, at least not in the federal government. Before you chow down, try to chew on the Office of Personnel Management's recently published facts on federal meal times.
For starters, lunch is "an approved period of time in a nonpay and nonwork status that interrupts a basic workday or a period of overtime work for the purposes of permitting employees to eat or engage in permitted personal activities," according to OPM.
Feds are not legally entitled to a meal period. Rather, it is up to each agency to establish its own lunch time rules. Meal policies cover most federal employees, including white- and blue-collar workers. While the norm is to allow employees one hour for a lunch break, it isn't set in stone. Agencies can require shorter lunches if they choose and may allow unpaid meals during overtime hours.
Regulations do forbid agencies from extending lunch periods. Scheduling a rest period right before lunch in order to extend the meal period is a no-no, as is making workers return to their duties while on break. In the latter case, employees can get compensated for having to give up their noon meal.
Some feds can't go off campus for lunch if they are on-call, including firefighters and law enforcement officers, with a few exceptions. Part-time employees may also be treated differently. OPM suggests that agencies establish separate lunch policies for those who work less than an 8-hour day.
It all boils down to an agency's flexibility. Factors that are considered when meal policies are made include:
- provisions in negotiated agreements
- the distance and convenience of eating establishments
- whether employees can leave the premises (e.g., guards cannot be excused)
- if work is done on weekends, during overtime hours, or at night
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