Could Kentucky workers lose lunch breaks? Bill repealing right to breaks advances

FRANKFORT — A House committee this week approved a bill that would eliminate Kentucky workers’ rights to lunch and rest breaks, despite confusion among lawmakers over what the bill would do and concerns from labor cabinet officials.

Kentucky law currently requires employers to give workers an unpaid lunch break in the middle of their shift. It also requires paid 10-minute rest breaks for every four hours worked, as well as time-and-a-half overtime pay on the seventh day of work in a row.

If enacted, House Bill 500, sponsored by Rep. Phillip Pratt, R-Georgetown, would repeal those requirements.

The bill has drawn the opposition of organized labor groups and others, including an employment law attorney.

Federal law does not require employers to offer lunch or rest breaks, and Pratt said the purpose of his bill is to “modernize” Kentucky labor law to match the federal law.

Pratt said the difference between the state and federal labor law creates “confusion” for Kentucky employers.

Kentucky lunch breaks bill: How you could lose lunch, rest benefits if KY Bill 500 is passed

Pratt said employers can still provide lunch breaks and rest periods if they choose to, and his business — a landscaping company — will continue to offer those breaks. Pratt is also the sponsor of a bill that would weaken the state's child labor laws.

The elimination of rest and meal breaks is particularly concerning to Michele Henry, a Louisville employment law attorney at Craig Henry PLC, who called the measure “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," Henry said. "Eliminating breaks increases the chance of injuries and burnout."

Duane Hammons, director of wage and hours for the state department of workplace standards at the Education and Labor Cabinet, brought up similar criticisms.

“Paid breaks and mealtimes are essential workplace standards that contribute to the mental and physical well-being of each and every employee we have in this commonwealth,” Hammons said.

He pointed out that Kentucky’s labor law has mandated breaks and seventh-day overtime for decades.

The bill could also open the door for employers to not pay workers for travel for long commutes to and from distant worksites and even travel between sites during the workday.

"Employers would have no liability for not paying employees who must travel to several locations for work, such as HVAC, repair work plumbers, electricians, landscapers, construction workers," Hammons said.

More: 'Fight until our very last breath': Unions rally against bill weakening child labor law

Organized labor groups and the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy, a left-leaning think tank based in Berea, also oppose the bill.

“Why the sudden urgency to repeal laws that are in place to protect Kentucky's workers?” asked Jerald Adkins, during the House committee hearing. Adkins represents the Kentucky AFL-CIO and the Kentucky State Building Construction Trades Council.

Reducing back pay and increasing lawsuits?

Henry, the employment law attorney, said the bill, if passed, would negatively impact people who have been underpaid, as well as the legal system as a whole.

The bill would change the statute of limitations for bringing employment lawsuits from five to three years. That means employers who underpay their employees would have to pay back lost wages for only three years instead of five, Henry said.

That could drive up the number of lawsuits filed by employees who think they’ve been shorted, Henry said.

Attorneys will file lawsuits more quickly instead of first trying to negotiate a resolution with the employer, she predicted.

Unintended consequences

The House Small Business and Information Technology Committee, which Pratt chairs, approved the measure on a party-line vote. But even some GOP members who voted 'yes' for the bill expressed doubts about it.

For example, Rep. Savannah Maddox, R-Dry Ridge, voted 'yes' but said, “There are questions that have occurred to me … (I) definitely want to learn more about what we’re voting on.”

Rep. Susan Witten, R-Louisville, broke with her party and passed on voting. Witten said she is concerned about the bill’s “unintended consequences.”

The bill passed on a 9-4 vote and will now move to the House floor for a vote by the full chamber.

Reach Rebecca Grapevine at rgrapevine@courier-journal.com or follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @RebGrapevine.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: HB 500 to eliminate workers' rights to rest and lunch breaks advances.