Virginia state law and breaks at work

[Thuriel]

I know what Connecticut state law has to say on this topic. Part-time employees are required to take one paid half-hour break for every four hours they work, and one unpaid one-hour break for every eight hours. (At a time. And I'm simplifying.)

Does anybody happen to know the equivalent state law in Virginia...?

Or, perhaps more generally useful, anybody know of a good way to look through the state law? I'm trying to search through here (http://leg1.state.va.us/000/src.htm) but it's a bit overwhelming.

[TwistedFirestarter]

Do you have an employee handbook? For my part-time job last summer (in VA) I had:

3.5 hrs or less worked -- no paid or unpaid breaks
3.5 - 5 hrs -- one 15 minute paid break, no unpaid
5 - 6 hrs -- one 15 minute paid, one 30 minute unpaid meal break
6 - 10 hrs -- two 15 minute paid, one 30 minute unpaid meal break
10+ hrs -- three 15 minute paid, two 30 minute unpaid meal breaks

--

This was at Ross, which paid me minimum wage, so I doubt they'd have awesome benefits. That should be a good baseline?

[Thuriel]

That is a good baseline!

I'd like to be able to show the actual law to some people (*cough*employers*cough*) but it's less urgent if, say, my dinner break during my seven-hour shift really is supposed to be unpaid. It's not as nice as Connecticut*, but minimum wage is also about a dollar lower so I dunno what I expected, really.

*Yeah, yeah, listen to me grumble. I just wish I still lived in New England. *shrug*

Also: My employers are entirely too disorganized for something like an employee handbook!

[Dwiesel McAllister]

I didn't know minimum wage could change from state to state. And didn't they recently raise the minimum wage to $9.60? Either that, or they're about to.

[Thuriel]

I didn't know minimum wage could change from state to state. And didn't they recently raise the minimum wage to $9.60? Either that, or they're about to.

I apologize sincerely for the following:

Ahahahahahaha haa! No.

There's a federal minimum wage. The states can either use that or set their own higher minimum wage. On July 24, 2009 (i.e. yesterday), the federal minimum wage was raised to $7.25. Previously it had been $6.55. Virginia uses the federal minimum wage, so until yesterday I was working for $6.55 an hour; last summer I also made minimum wage, but in Connecticut it was $7.65 an hour.

If your state's minimum wage is (or is about to be) $9.60, then I envy you greatly, but not everybody is that lucky.

[Dwiesel McAllister]

I apologize sincerely for the following:

Ahahahahahaha haa! No.

There's a federal minimum wage. The states can either use that or set their own higher minimum wage. On July 24, 2009 (i.e. yesterday), the federal minimum wage was raised to $7.25. Previously it had been $6.55. Virginia uses the federal minimum wage, so until yesterday I was working for $6.55 an hour; last summer I also made minimum wage, but in Connecticut it was $7.65 an hour.

If your state's minimum wage is (or is about to be) $9.60, then I envy you greatly, but not everybody is that lucky.

Ok, looking back on this, I remembered that Obama wants to raise the minimum wage to $9.60 by the end of 2011. Sorry about the confusion! :oops: I thought it seemed a bit high when I wrote it.

[TwistedFirestarter]

Yeah, I was working during one of the minimum wage shifts. That extra quarter was so shiny~