A Kentucky bill that would restrict the right to a lunch break has been passed and approved by a committee of the state legislature. This also has chances to remove the right to 10-minute breaks of the workers. Another point to be highlighted is that the bill would also not let them get the minimum wage for anything that is not considered the “principal” work activity. This could also include putting on a work uniform or any other preparations.
The Kentucky Bill, would also remove the need to pay time and a half overtime on the seventh consecutive day of work for people working at least 40 hours a week. Moreover, it will eliminate the preventing employers from being punished for not paying minimum wage and overtime pay when employees travel to and from their place of work.
The Republican-led House Small Business and Information Technology Committee approved the measure in a division 9-4 vote on Wednesday.
It (the bill) is sponsored by the committee’s chair, Republican Phillip Pratt. The committee mentioned on the website, “People, safety, and quality are more than a priority, they are a value.” During a committee ’meeting on the bill, Democrat Rachel Roberts asked Pratt if he had consulted the Labor and Education Cabinet, labor groups about the bill and the changes that are to be made.
Responding to the same, he said he resented any implication that he had filed the bill to help himself, the Kentucky Lantern reported. Newsweek sought email comment from him on last week through his landscape business.
The Kentucky Bill 500 would repeal current state legislation that requires employers to allow workers a lunch break for every three to five hours of work completed. If this becomes a law, it would require employers to pay workers while they are eating instead of giving them a break. Proponents say the bill would bring the state closer to the federal law. However, the critics argue it could decrease workplace safety.
According to Pratt, “You have federal law, which says you must do this; then you have state law, which says you’ve got to do that. To run afoul of them becomes very easy.” The bill was criticized by Michele Henry, a Louisville employment law attorney at Craig Henry PLC. He said, “simply unfair to employees who are spending eight or more hours a day at the workplace. They should be entitled to time off to eat and to engage in other activities. Eliminating breaks increases the chance of injuries and burnout.”