{"id":6423,"date":"2026-10-14T15:53:40","date_gmt":"2026-10-14T20:53:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.employco.com\/blog\/?p=6423"},"modified":"2026-10-14T16:00:09","modified_gmt":"2026-10-14T21:00:09","slug":"hr-newsletter-employee-travel-time-to-mandatory-break-area-during-meal-periods","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.employco.com\/blog\/2026\/10\/14\/hr-newsletter-employee-travel-time-to-mandatory-break-area-during-meal-periods\/","title":{"rendered":"HR Newsletter: Employee Travel Time to Mandatory Break Area During Meal Periods"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.employco.com\/images\/newsletter\/HR\/Blog\/September20_DOL.jpg\" alt=\"HR Newsletter: Employee Travel Time to Mandatory Break Area During Meal Periods\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:25px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On Sept. 7, 2026, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued Opinion Letter FLSA2026-11 addressing whether required travel to and from an employer\u2019s designated break area affects whether an unpaid meal period qualifies as a bona fide meal break under the FLSA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Background<\/strong> &#8211; The FLSA does not require employers to provide meal periods. However, if an employer chooses to provide meal breaks, the employer must comply with the FLSA\u2019s meal period requirements. In general, bona fide meal periods are not compensable if they are 30 minutes or longer and the employee is completely relieved from duty and not interrupted by work, even for a short time. For example, if an office employee remains at their desk while eating lunch and regularly answers the telephone or responds to customers, they should be paid for this time because the employee has not been completely relieved from duty. Mandatory travel time to reach a break area does not automatically convert the entire period into paid time. However, if the meal periods are of sufficient duration and are significantly reduced by travel time, frequent or lengthy interruptions, or restrictions, then the meal period or portions of it may be compensable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Key Highlights<\/strong> &#8211; The employee at issue was a security aide at a detention facility where employees were prohibited from bringing food beyond the entry building. Employees received a 60-minute meal period. The employer required employees to walk 6 to 14 minutes round-trip to a designated break area to eat, resulting in 46 to 54 minutes at the designated break area. The DOL confirmed that the meal period provided by the employer is bona fide under the FLSA because it is an uninterrupted period during which employees are relieved from their duties, and the break time is long enough to allow employees to use the break for the purpose of eating, even accounting for the required travel time. According to the DOL, employees had more than 30 minutes to eat after arriving at the break area, which is longer than the 30 minutes that is ordinarily sufficient to qualify as a bona fide meal period. The DOL also noted that, under the predominant benefit test, the travel time to the break area was not compensable because employees needed only a few minutes to reach it. The longer meal period reinforces the conclusion that the comparatively brief travel time did not prevent employees from receiving ample time to eat a regular meal and use the remainder of the break for personal purposes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Employer Takeaway<\/strong>: A meal period can remain unpaid even when employees must travel to a designated break area, provided they are fully relieved from duty and have sufficient time to eat and use the remainder of the break for personal purposes. Employers should consider the total circumstances, including the length of the meal period and the amount of time consumed by required travel.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On Sept. 7, 2026, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued Opinion Letter FLSA2026-11 addressing whether required travel to and from an employer\u2019s designated break area affects whether an unpaid meal period qualifies as a bona fide meal break under&hellip;  <\/p>\n<p class=\"more-link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.employco.com\/blog\/2026\/10\/14\/hr-newsletter-employee-travel-time-to-mandatory-break-area-during-meal-periods\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6423","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-hr-newsletter"],"featured_image_src":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"Employco USA","author_link":"https:\/\/www.employco.com\/blog\/author\/employcousa\/"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.3 - 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Retail Exemption for Truck Drivers - FLSA2020-11 patterns the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;HR Newsletter&quot;","block_context":{"text":"HR Newsletter","link":"https:\/\/www.employco.com\/blog\/category\/employco-in-the-news\/hr-newsletter\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"DOL Opinion Letters","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.employco.com\/images\/newsletter\/HR\/blog\/September20_DOL-Letter.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.employco.com\/images\/newsletter\/HR\/blog\/September20_DOL-Letter.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.employco.com\/images\/newsletter\/HR\/blog\/September20_DOL-Letter.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.employco.com\/images\/newsletter\/HR\/blog\/September20_DOL-Letter.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.employco.com\/images\/newsletter\/HR\/blog\/September20_DOL-Letter.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3189,"url":"https:\/\/www.employco.com\/blog\/2020\/12\/14\/hr-newsletter-dol-addresses-pay-for-employee-travel-and-training\/","url_meta":{"origin":6423,"position":3},"title":"HR Newsletter: DOL Addresses Pay for Employee Travel and Training","author":"Employco USA","date":"December 14, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"On Nov. 3, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published two new opinion letters providing the DOL\u2019s official position on how the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) applies to employee pay when there is work-related travel or employee training. Voluntary Training Programs - The FLSA requires employers to compensate\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;HR Newsletter&quot;","block_context":{"text":"HR Newsletter","link":"https:\/\/www.employco.com\/blog\/category\/employco-in-the-news\/hr-newsletter\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"U.S. Department of Labor (DOL)","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.employco.com\/images\/newsletter\/HR\/Blog\/September20_DOL.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.employco.com\/images\/newsletter\/HR\/Blog\/September20_DOL.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.employco.com\/images\/newsletter\/HR\/Blog\/September20_DOL.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.employco.com\/images\/newsletter\/HR\/Blog\/September20_DOL.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.employco.com\/images\/newsletter\/HR\/Blog\/September20_DOL.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3679,"url":"https:\/\/www.employco.com\/blog\/2021\/11\/15\/hr-newsletter-dol-clarifies-pay-requirements-for-tipped-employees-with-dual-jobs\/","url_meta":{"origin":6423,"position":4},"title":"HR Newsletter: DOL Clarifies Pay Requirements for Tipped Employees with Dual Jobs","author":"Employco USA","date":"November 15, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"On Oct. 28, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced the publication of a new rule for tip regulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The new rule clarifies that employers may only take a tip credit for tipped employees when these employees are performing work that is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;HR Newsletter&quot;","block_context":{"text":"HR Newsletter","link":"https:\/\/www.employco.com\/blog\/category\/employco-in-the-news\/hr-newsletter\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"DOL (Department of Labor)","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.employco.com\/images\/newsletter\/HR\/Blog\/September20_DOL.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.employco.com\/images\/newsletter\/HR\/Blog\/September20_DOL.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.employco.com\/images\/newsletter\/HR\/Blog\/September20_DOL.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.employco.com\/images\/newsletter\/HR\/Blog\/September20_DOL.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.employco.com\/images\/newsletter\/HR\/Blog\/September20_DOL.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3625,"url":"https:\/\/www.employco.com\/blog\/2021\/10\/12\/hr-newsletter-dol-announces-final-rule-on-tip-regulations\/","url_meta":{"origin":6423,"position":5},"title":"HR Newsletter: DOL Announces Final Rule on Tip Regulations","author":"Employco USA","date":"October 12, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"On Sept. 23, the U.S. Department of Labor announced a final rule that will amend Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) regulations for tipped employees. The final rule was publicized in the Federal Register on Sept. 24, 2021, and is expected to become effective on Nov. 23, 2021. 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