Rather than hijack my own Saga of Today’s Bullshit Pointless Drama, I’m gonna separate this out to the GQ forum, with some background for those who stay out of the Pit:
I and my co-workers are salaried and not hourly, so no overtime for staying late. (I always mix up exempt and non-exempt, sorry.) Yesterday my boss’s boss informed the rest of us that today we were to attend a mandatory meeting at lunchtime and that she would be providing pizza.
Under U.S./Texas employment law, is she able to legally require us to give up our lunch breaks like this?
Does it alter the answer if the meeting was wholly non-work-related and was a team-building “game” of sorts? (For example: everyone stands around in a circle, grabs a random hand, then you have to untangle the group without letting go.)
Being an exempt employee, means that you are exempt from certain labor laws. Yes, your supervisor can require you to attend certain meetings even if they are over your normal lunch hour. You can be told to come in two hours early and leave 3 hours late and not be paid a dime more.
It is my understanding that in California, at least, every paid employee must have at least a 30-minute break from work for every 5 hours worked. (Note: I am not an expert or a lawyer; just a former manager; this is what I was told by HR at the time). Generally, “meetings” are considered to be work, as well as sitting at one’s desk and doing tasks. So if someone wanted to press it, it sounds like the company taking over one’s lunch break for a company activity would not be allowed.
For what it’s worth, there is also in California a category of salaried worker, called “computer professional” or something like that, the members of which must be paid for all hours worked (at regular time, not time-and-a-half).