Legal Question in Employment Law in Pennsylvania

I work in retail in PA. I am an hourly (NOT salaried) full-time employee. I know that I am required to take a 30 minute break if I am scheduled 5.5 or more hours in a day. BUT, 2 associates are required to be in the store at any given time. So, if there are 3 associates, I clock out for my break. If there are only 2 associates (one of them being me), I CANNOT LEAVE THE STORE but I can take a break for which I don't clock out, and I get paid for that break time. Is it legal for the "break rule" to change depending on how many people are working? Also, being non-salaried, should I be on the alarm list to be called to go into the store to check on an alarm in the middle of the night? Thanks.


Asked on 10/30/10, 7:43 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Terence Sean McGraw Warren & McGraw, LLC

Pennsylvania has no mandatory break time, so any break rules are simply the policy of your employer. Generally, employer policies are appropriate when they do not discriminate based upon protected classes or rights. Discrimination based upon the number of employees present is not using an illegal factor. You are only entitled to payment for hours you actually work. Therefore, if the employer's policy is that you can take a paid break under certain circumstances, that is more than the law requires. Whether you are on the alarm list or not is entirely up to you to negotiate as a condition of your employment. If you are required to respond to an emergency call, you must be paid for that time.

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Answered on 11/04/10, 8:55 am


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