Legislative Series #1: HB 1574: Good Bye Lunch Breaks

I would like to talk about a few of the bills that are coming up in the net legislative session of the New Hampshire House.  This will be a series of posts highlighting some of the blatant attacks on workers and Unions through legislation. We will also include some of the more Zany bills we have come across. This is also how we interpret the bill and what we believe it may mean for workers and families in New Hampshire.

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The first on I would like to bring to your attention is HB 1574.  HB 1574 (SPONSORS: Rep. Hoell, Merr 13) is very short and simple,  "AN ACT relative to an employee’s lunch or eating period."

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:  Repeal. RSA 275:20-a, relative to lunch or eating period, is repealed.

That is right, Rep J.R. Hoell is proposing that employers are no longer required to provide you a meal break for any shift worked. Currently they must provide you a 30 minute meal break if your shift exceeds 5 hours as stated here:

  275:30-a Lunch or Eating Period. – An employer may not require an employee to work more than 5 consecutive hours without granting him a 1/2 hour lunch or eating period, except if it is feasible for the employee to eat during the performance of his work, and the employer permits him to do so.

This could have many applications.  You could be a teacher who is no longer allowed to have a meal break durning your school day, or a telephone line worker who has been working for 10 hours without a meal break, or a cashier at a local store who has been working all day with a meal break.  So if you would like to continue to receive a lunch break at your job then you need to contact your state Rep and tell them to vote against this bill.