Nevada News: Lunch Anyone?

April 1, 2006 10:52 am

Reprinted from the April 2006 Nevada State Board of Pharmacy Newsletter.

Nevada Revised Statute 608.019(1) requires employers to permit employees who work continuous periods of eight or more hours to have an uninterrupted meal period of at least one-half hour. Until recently, said “uninterrupted meal period” has never been addressed in our statutes or regulations. In December 2005, the Nevada State Board of Pharmacy passed regulations that permit all employees of a pharmacy, including pharmacists, to take a meal period if they so desire. Judging from the many calls to the Board office, confusion exists among you. Here are the simplified rules:

1. The owner of a pharmacy shall permit each employee of the pharmacy to take meal periods and rest periods (30 minutes/8 hours for meals and 10 minutes/4 hours for rest).
2. If there is more than one pharmacist on duty at the time of the meal period, the pharmacist may eat either on or off the premises.
3. If the pharmacist is the only one on duty at the time of the meal period, he or she may, at his or her discretion, eat in the pharmacy (and be interrupted or not at his or her option) or leave the pharmacy, provided he or she closes and secures the pharmacy (everyone out) and posts a sign visible to the public stating the time of his or her return.
4. A pharmacy closed and secured during a meal period may accept a prescription by an authorized employee outside the pharmacy or by a secure container or receptacle that would meet Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act privacy requirements.

Note: the Board did not address the issue of pay, or lack thereof, during a meal period.