House Bill 500 Takes Away Kentucky Workers’ Lunch and Rest Breaks and Cuts Their Pay

House Bill (HB) 500, which is to be heard in the House Small Business and Information Technology Committee Wednesday, would take away Kentucky workers’ rights to lunch and rest breaks at work and would eliminate pay protections, including for time spent traveling to and from a job site during work hours. It is an assault on longstanding basic rights and dignities on the job that will harm practically all Kentucky workers. Specifically, HB 500:

Repeals the requirement that employers provide a lunch break. Currently, businesses must provide a lunch break every three to five hours, but that right would be eliminated under HB 500. Instead, HB 500 says only that a worker required to keep working without a lunch break can’t be denied pay if they juggle eating something while on the job.