A Pennsylvania employee was still clocked in when he crossed the street to buy a sandwich during an unauthorized rest break. While offsite during the unscheduled rest break, the employee slipped on ice, fell, and hit his head, causing serious injuries.
Because the rest break was paid, a Pennsylvania court ruled the employee’s slip-and-fall during the offsite outing was a work-related injury covered by the employer’s workers’ compensation policy. The case is Henderson v WP Ventures Inc., Case No. 392 CD 2021, in the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania.
The court explained that under the “personal comfort doctrine” employees can take short rest breaks to smoke, use the bathroom, or grab a snack or sandwich, and still be furthering their employer’s interests. "The personal comfort doctrine may apply when the claimant's time away from the work premises is informal in nature, purely devoted to personal comfort of a physical nature, such as a cigarette break or to procure food, and brief enough that the course of employment is not broken," Judge Christine Fizzano Cannon wrote for the Commonwealth Court panel.
What about the fact that the rest break was unscheduled and unauthorized? The court was swayed by the employee’s testimony that the employer had an unwritten policy that workers did not need to ask permission to take short rest breaks for food or cigarettes, even if the worker intended to leave the employer’s premises.
Employers should ensure written policies are clear that nonexempt (hourly) employees must remain onsite during scheduled or unscheduled paid rest breaks. Also, remember that all rest breaks under 20 minutes (scheduled or unscheduled) are required to be paid pursuant to the Fair Labor Standards Act.
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