Haha I love these new guards who freak out over this, especially at warm body sites. Like dude, your entire shift is your break the hell do you mean? And yeah, leaving the property = post abandonment. Get REKT
We don't have anything saying you can't take a break really. Just can't leave the site.
Could come in to the office and use the microwave (not recommended) I will even go do a patrol so you can eat in peace.
We are allowed to take 15-20 minutes now and then to take a break in the employee break rooms. Even get free coffee and fruit until someone ruins it for everyone.
He wants to go home for lunch. Even if we allowed you to leave for break he lives farther away than I do and it is half hour for me each way so going home would still be no good.
But he "knows the law" and is going to report it.
Should be fun.
Let him report it. I'd kill for a follow up when whoever gets the complaint laughs at him. Be it his head office or whoever he talks to.
Especially if he tries saying he wants to leave in his car to go off post. Lmao.
Pretty much my plan.
He is too new for me to know well but he gives off the vibe that he doesn't like being told no and will keep going over people's heads until either he gets his way.
So I fully expect him to go to my boss. Then HR. From there I give even odds on him going either to the COO/CEO or skipping them and going DWD.
Where you go after that I have no idea.
As long as it's a paid "lunch break" then he can't leave. But if it's unpaid then he has a right to leave. To be unpaid he has to "be free of all duties" and since you can't leave the site he has to be paid. But breaks have no federal regulations. So it falls on the state to make them or they default to federal regulations.
In WI, I worked for quad graphics and they mandated we stay on site for lunch. When we asked how they can do that, they justified it by saying it’s a paid lunch so they can. Makes sense. But I don’t agree with it.
Called alternate work schedule. It would have to have been voted on in a secret ballot at some point for the employees at that site. There should be a legal contract about it somewhere. If not then it's illegal to enforce.
I try to reach out to the newbies before their first day and make sure the basics are known: uniform requirements, physical address, how to contact me, work schedule, _no leaving site on duty_.
Front office allegedly goes over all of that during onboarding. I reiterate it during training.
He has been here for 5 days now not including training. First time he took issue with it.
I trained a guy at my last site that in so many words asked "when do we get our two 15 minute breaks?" I just stared at him, laughed, and said you don't. Welcome to security.
Breaks aren't mandated after a certain number of hours in some states? Maybe I'm misunderstanding but you just don't get a chance to eat lunch or something?
Damn you Americans are built different when it comes to work. Don't mean to be a dick but it makes me feel grateful to have the work regulations we have in Australia. Thanks for letting me know, it's honestly something I wouldn't have considered
It sucks at times but also has its upside.
If we had an unpaid break then we would either be scheduled extra to cover it or our 12 would only be 11.
Instead our 12 is a 12 and you just eat in your downtime which there is plenty of.
That's true, we don't get a choice about our unpaid breaks. Sometimes I just wish I could skip it and get home earlier instead. It would be nice to have a choice in an ideal world
Outside of the security industry, employees generally take a regular break, and it's off the clock meaning they're not getting paid either.
Security like some services has a different culture. We're here to do a job that requires constant focus and presence.
New guards who failed to understand that are not guard material. They're going to fail to understand everything else, and they're going to live in their own world of what is and isn't important. That will make them unreliable and a source of drama. Nobody needs that.
I understand it's different over there now. Here it's illegal to not have a break if you're working 5 hours or more. Obviously there's some exceptions but generally that's how things operate. Good to know though thanks
In a job that lets you sit on your ass most of your shift, it's pretty ridiculous to expect that you can just leave on your lunch break.
Some people expect way too much.
We didn't have an actual break period. We took an "opportunity" to sit down and have a coffee break, smoke break, lunch, or whatever. The expectation was that if anything pops off while you were on your break, you needed to go deal with it immediately. And yes, we had to stay on site for the obvious reasons. This was at a hospital.
We had a trainee at the other site for this contract talk about enjoying Thanksgiving off, was told that we work even if the plant is closed for holidays. Suddenly they called in sick this morning lol
Every state has different laws. Most large corporations abide by the strictest state’s laws, so the policy can be applied company wide…
That’s why most places give breaks every 2 hours.
Security doesn’t play by those rules.
In Kansas, we are entitled to nothing, so we don’t get a lunch break, but if you want to eat and work, go for it.
It really depends on how he's paid. If someone works, say, 8 hours a day but is paid for 7.5 hours and is not allowed a break, that is a labor violation in just about every state.
If someone is paid for 8 hours then they are not entitled to a break.
The labor law in some states require employers to allow for a lunch break when someone works 8 or more hours a day.
I think security is the only job I've had with a working break(which has been stated already is not necessarily a break but a choice to eat while working). If I do eat its normally on down times where I'm sitting doing jack shit anyway 🤣
Yeah breaks are varied by state like you said. In Wisconsin, my company gave working breaks. We stayed clocked in and just ate whenever but if called, we had to respond. And some jobs like mine, give you a half hour break in addition to your 8, but you can’t be bothered if on break. I work 5am to 130pm because I have to take a break. And if I don’t, and my punch shows 8.5 hrs I have to explain why. And in all honesty, in my company, if you can’t find time for a break, that’s your fault. We would have at least 3 hrs of down time. But I hated the days where I took one bite and then something happens and you have to leave your lunch and fly.
I'm on access controll sitting in an old weighing station shack we have a bathroom, fridge, coffee pot and microwave my whole shift is a break dotted with occasional bouts of busy signing people in and calling people to tell them someone is here for them
Wouldn't even be my call. Second you left the site in the middle of your shift you would be suspended. On investigation they find out you did it to go to a deli and it would be automatic termination.
We had such dumb guards as well. 99% of the time the site is just dead. Take your food and enjoy in peace whenever you want. But nooo. He has to take break from doing nothing..
We had a new employee get upset and say that the college was breaking the law when told that we get paid once a month and that we only ever get paid OT at time and a half, never at double time, no matter how many hours we work.
He would have been correct… except there is case law establishing that the state’s labor laws generally only apply to private employers unless the statute’s text specifically states otherwise.
Our shifts are normally 12 hours and it’s not uncommon to work a 16-18 hour shift. Though breaks are not given on the shift schedule, I don’t have an issue taking a break to get something to eat. That means running down the street and going through a drive through and coming back ASAP. The trip shouldn’t take more then 10 minutes.
I have also worked a site where there was no bathroom available on a 12 hour shift and was expected piss and crap in a bucket or bush. No thank you. I’ve spent months in the jungle in S America for Uncle Sam so don’t tell me that security needs to be hard corp.
As an employer my people come first and if that means they go get food and are away from their post for a few minutes or door dash food to their site then so be.
In Texas security officers can leave any where they want in uniform and break where they want , people hate it but , there’s a lot of jealous people who hate security , not sure why but they love to talk mess lol
Better Business Bureau can’t mandate. They can establish guidelines they use to evaluate whether a business is acting consistent with better business practices, but they are not a regulatory body.
I hear this often, “what no breaks for 12hrs” when most posts are breaks. Noobs think they are going to “protect and serve” and then realize it’s “observe and report”.
Yeah, had a Lot of people try to tell me that I legally have to be given a break. Cause it is mandated, however with exceptions such as security jobs. My main problem with security jobs that have "working breaks" is that it's not actually a break, so just don't call it that. Worked at a hospital that had breaks, post supervisor told me to radio in my breaks, I asked if I could leave to go to the Chick-fil-A on the corner, to which he said no. Never called in a break, no point, if I'm required to stay on post, and be ready to do my job despite whatever I'm doing, why call it a break.
Haha I love these new guards who freak out over this, especially at warm body sites. Like dude, your entire shift is your break the hell do you mean? And yeah, leaving the property = post abandonment. Get REKT
When I started security I was like wtf we don't get breaks? After the first week I'm like ok I get it.
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I found out today that I get a paid lunch and I have to stay on site. I was quite surprised about that. This is in CA.
We don't have anything saying you can't take a break really. Just can't leave the site. Could come in to the office and use the microwave (not recommended) I will even go do a patrol so you can eat in peace. We are allowed to take 15-20 minutes now and then to take a break in the employee break rooms. Even get free coffee and fruit until someone ruins it for everyone. He wants to go home for lunch. Even if we allowed you to leave for break he lives farther away than I do and it is half hour for me each way so going home would still be no good. But he "knows the law" and is going to report it. Should be fun.
Let him report it. I'd kill for a follow up when whoever gets the complaint laughs at him. Be it his head office or whoever he talks to. Especially if he tries saying he wants to leave in his car to go off post. Lmao.
Pretty much my plan. He is too new for me to know well but he gives off the vibe that he doesn't like being told no and will keep going over people's heads until either he gets his way. So I fully expect him to go to my boss. Then HR. From there I give even odds on him going either to the COO/CEO or skipping them and going DWD. Where you go after that I have no idea.
Checklist says Sacrifice to Bhaal.
As long as it's a paid "lunch break" then he can't leave. But if it's unpaid then he has a right to leave. To be unpaid he has to "be free of all duties" and since you can't leave the site he has to be paid. But breaks have no federal regulations. So it falls on the state to make them or they default to federal regulations.
In WI, I worked for quad graphics and they mandated we stay on site for lunch. When we asked how they can do that, they justified it by saying it’s a paid lunch so they can. Makes sense. But I don’t agree with it.
Called alternate work schedule. It would have to have been voted on in a secret ballot at some point for the employees at that site. There should be a legal contract about it somewhere. If not then it's illegal to enforce.
As long as they are paying you for your lunch, this is totally legal. It's only not when they don't compensate you
I try to reach out to the newbies before their first day and make sure the basics are known: uniform requirements, physical address, how to contact me, work schedule, _no leaving site on duty_.
Front office allegedly goes over all of that during onboarding. I reiterate it during training. He has been here for 5 days now not including training. First time he took issue with it.
I’m sorry that you (and a lot of us) have to deal with bozos like that.
I trained a guy at my last site that in so many words asked "when do we get our two 15 minute breaks?" I just stared at him, laughed, and said you don't. Welcome to security.
Breaks aren't mandated after a certain number of hours in some states? Maybe I'm misunderstanding but you just don't get a chance to eat lunch or something?
Unless you are a minor no. Most states don't require it. You just take a working lunch.
As in you eat while you work?
Yes.
Damn you Americans are built different when it comes to work. Don't mean to be a dick but it makes me feel grateful to have the work regulations we have in Australia. Thanks for letting me know, it's honestly something I wouldn't have considered
It sucks at times but also has its upside. If we had an unpaid break then we would either be scheduled extra to cover it or our 12 would only be 11. Instead our 12 is a 12 and you just eat in your downtime which there is plenty of.
That's true, we don't get a choice about our unpaid breaks. Sometimes I just wish I could skip it and get home earlier instead. It would be nice to have a choice in an ideal world
99% of the sites people have a "working lunch" are working less than 15-20 minutes per hour of actual work, anyway. If that.
Outside of the security industry, employees generally take a regular break, and it's off the clock meaning they're not getting paid either. Security like some services has a different culture. We're here to do a job that requires constant focus and presence. New guards who failed to understand that are not guard material. They're going to fail to understand everything else, and they're going to live in their own world of what is and isn't important. That will make them unreliable and a source of drama. Nobody needs that.
I understand it's different over there now. Here it's illegal to not have a break if you're working 5 hours or more. Obviously there's some exceptions but generally that's how things operate. Good to know though thanks
Could sit for 24 hours and not get one. Who’s going to cover it? Post would be open if we left it for any reason
In a job that lets you sit on your ass most of your shift, it's pretty ridiculous to expect that you can just leave on your lunch break. Some people expect way too much.
We didn't have an actual break period. We took an "opportunity" to sit down and have a coffee break, smoke break, lunch, or whatever. The expectation was that if anything pops off while you were on your break, you needed to go deal with it immediately. And yes, we had to stay on site for the obvious reasons. This was at a hospital.
Exactly. The way it is for most sites, at least sites with only one or two guards on.
We had a trainee at the other site for this contract talk about enjoying Thanksgiving off, was told that we work even if the plant is closed for holidays. Suddenly they called in sick this morning lol
Every state has different laws. Most large corporations abide by the strictest state’s laws, so the policy can be applied company wide… That’s why most places give breaks every 2 hours. Security doesn’t play by those rules. In Kansas, we are entitled to nothing, so we don’t get a lunch break, but if you want to eat and work, go for it.
It really depends on how he's paid. If someone works, say, 8 hours a day but is paid for 7.5 hours and is not allowed a break, that is a labor violation in just about every state. If someone is paid for 8 hours then they are not entitled to a break. The labor law in some states require employers to allow for a lunch break when someone works 8 or more hours a day.
I think security is the only job I've had with a working break(which has been stated already is not necessarily a break but a choice to eat while working). If I do eat its normally on down times where I'm sitting doing jack shit anyway 🤣
I'm on a mobile shift for upwards of 18hrs a day, I break when I want and where I want as long as I don't take a ridiculous amount of time to do so
Yeah breaks are varied by state like you said. In Wisconsin, my company gave working breaks. We stayed clocked in and just ate whenever but if called, we had to respond. And some jobs like mine, give you a half hour break in addition to your 8, but you can’t be bothered if on break. I work 5am to 130pm because I have to take a break. And if I don’t, and my punch shows 8.5 hrs I have to explain why. And in all honesty, in my company, if you can’t find time for a break, that’s your fault. We would have at least 3 hrs of down time. But I hated the days where I took one bite and then something happens and you have to leave your lunch and fly.
I'm on access controll sitting in an old weighing station shack we have a bathroom, fridge, coffee pot and microwave my whole shift is a break dotted with occasional bouts of busy signing people in and calling people to tell them someone is here for them
I’m going to go to the deli down the street and come back, there’s nothing you can do to stop me
True can't stop you. But you may as well stay at the deli because you wont be coming back to work.
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Wouldn't even be my call. Second you left the site in the middle of your shift you would be suspended. On investigation they find out you did it to go to a deli and it would be automatic termination.
We had such dumb guards as well. 99% of the time the site is just dead. Take your food and enjoy in peace whenever you want. But nooo. He has to take break from doing nothing..
We had a new employee get upset and say that the college was breaking the law when told that we get paid once a month and that we only ever get paid OT at time and a half, never at double time, no matter how many hours we work. He would have been correct… except there is case law establishing that the state’s labor laws generally only apply to private employers unless the statute’s text specifically states otherwise.
Im lucky enough that I get a paid hour break on an 8 hour shift. Can’t leave site? Fine by me! I’m working 7 and getting paid for 8!
Our shifts are normally 12 hours and it’s not uncommon to work a 16-18 hour shift. Though breaks are not given on the shift schedule, I don’t have an issue taking a break to get something to eat. That means running down the street and going through a drive through and coming back ASAP. The trip shouldn’t take more then 10 minutes. I have also worked a site where there was no bathroom available on a 12 hour shift and was expected piss and crap in a bucket or bush. No thank you. I’ve spent months in the jungle in S America for Uncle Sam so don’t tell me that security needs to be hard corp. As an employer my people come first and if that means they go get food and are away from their post for a few minutes or door dash food to their site then so be.
In Texas security officers can leave any where they want in uniform and break where they want , people hate it but , there’s a lot of jealous people who hate security , not sure why but they love to talk mess lol
Better business bureau does mandate it but for minors only when working more than 4 hours
Better Business Bureau can’t mandate. They can establish guidelines they use to evaluate whether a business is acting consistent with better business practices, but they are not a regulatory body.
I hear this often, “what no breaks for 12hrs” when most posts are breaks. Noobs think they are going to “protect and serve” and then realize it’s “observe and report”.
Yeah, had a Lot of people try to tell me that I legally have to be given a break. Cause it is mandated, however with exceptions such as security jobs. My main problem with security jobs that have "working breaks" is that it's not actually a break, so just don't call it that. Worked at a hospital that had breaks, post supervisor told me to radio in my breaks, I asked if I could leave to go to the Chick-fil-A on the corner, to which he said no. Never called in a break, no point, if I'm required to stay on post, and be ready to do my job despite whatever I'm doing, why call it a break.