Illinois Labor Law Breaks
The state of Illinois, unlike many other states, allows its employed citizens the right to have meal breaks of at least thirty minutes every seven and one-half hours or more of work. Employers may choose to increase these lunch hours to more time but cannot legally restrict mealtimes to less than thirty minutes. This law is found in the Illinois One Day Rest In Seven Act. These breaks are normally unpaid unless an employer chooses to pay an employee otherwise. When a break is in progress, an employee is required to not work. If any amount of work is submitted during the mealtime break, the employer is required to pay for the break time.
Certain stipulations apply in regard to how breaks are handled. Under this law, a business must have a minimum of three employees working at a time for this law to take effect. Some breaks can be required more often. For instance, the Department of Transportation requires truck drivers to break more often when driving long distances. Most businesses and companies allow employees to have paid ten-minute breaks twice or more throughout the workday. These breaks often promote productivity and allow for mental recharging to complete tasks more effectively.
Minor Break: For workers under 16 who put in more than five hours, at least 30 minutes.
Illinois Performance Laws
Neither the federal government nor the state of Illinois has an inalienable right to allow employees the right to come to work ten to fifteen minutes late. By law employees are thus required to be on time each day. Despite having psychological or physical ailments, employees must adhere to this law.
Common issues often include depression, arthritis, bipolar depression, attention deficit hyperactive disorder, insomnia, and migraines. Some businesses or companies will allow employees to have different standards if the problem is recurring and a disability. Some HR departments may also assist employees in their cases of disability reasoning to be late to work.
Under these cases, the employees must present professional medical diagnoses to their HR departments or current employers before the issue can be deemed a disability. Under most circumstances, the HR department will approach the employer with the issue without mentioning the medical or psychological ailment. This allows doctor-patient confidentiality yet handles the issue of disability treatment. If no negotiation can be created, then the employee may terminate his or her position or the employer may terminate him or her on the basis of repeated tardiness.
Employee Payment
At times some employees have a set work schedule from nine in the morning to five in the evening but do not have enough work to keep occupied during that time. Under these circumstances, employers are required to pay these employees despite not completing any work. For instance, an employee who only delivers items eight hours a day may not be having any deliveries to make for several hours. Under these circumstances, employers are legally required to pay these employees as they otherwise would. However, if an employee leaves work for personal reasons outside of work purposes, an employer is not legally bound to pay him or her for that amount of time.