Im a little confused about breaks, and I asked my store manager and she seemed confused, too. There is a sign up in my store saying if you work 7-9 hours, you get 2 15 minute breaks which can be separate or combined into 1 30 minute break. It says do not take clock as a lunch break unless you drive somewhere. Then it says "You may take a lunch if you wish but clock it as a lunch out and a lunch in".
The confusion is about this last sentence. Does that mean you are allowed to take the 2 15 or 1 30 paid breaks PLUS an unpaid 30 minute lunch, or does it just mean you can choose to take an upaid 30 INSTEAD of the paid breaks (if you wanted to drive somewhere)?
If you work 8 hours you get 2 15 minute breaks PLUS an unpaid 30 minute lunch. Basically if you're scheduled say 1:30 - 10. The extra half hour is your lunch.
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I thought people were joking when they said working for Kroger sucks...
In my store we only get one 30 minute break for a 7 hour shift. It's getting worse lately, last night I got my break 45 minutes before I clocked out. Our union contract state no breaks will be taken the last hour of your shift but Kroger doesn't really care about that. We used to have a floor supervisor that would allow you two 15 minute breaks if you wanted but now its 30 minutes at a time if they aren't too busy. It's hard working 5 or 6 more hours straight without a break.
If you work a full shift (which is 8 paid hours) then you should get two 15-minute breaks and one hour lunch. Whoever told you to not clock in a lunch unless you drive somewhere isn't telling you the truth. If you take your half hour lunch, then you need to clock it in as a lunch and not a break, because a break is paid for and a lunch is not. You may be written up for time theft if you are withholding your lunch breaks, because it adds paid hours to your shift that you were not scheduled to have. Management at my store has been getting on to people for it, and I think a couple baggers might have been fired over doing something similar. The definition of a lunch and a break is unclear to some people, here's what it means:
Break: Not to exceed 30 minutes, you must stay on store premises, you can clock back in whenever.
Lunch: Not to exceed one hour, you do not have to stay on store premises, you cannot clock back in before a certain time (like before 23 minutes or something).
If you are a minor, the store's management could get in trouble for giving you a half hour break instead of a half hour lunch depending on your state's laws. If you ever have any confusion, just talk to your store manager about it. He'll probably give you the rundown on any state laws or union rules that dictate when your breaks are and how long they should last.
