



The failure to provide a meal period was caused by unforeseeable equipment failures, acts of nature or other exceptional and unanticipated circumstances that only rarely and temporarily preclude the provision of a meal period.Yes there are four exceptions to the requirement that an employee be provided with a 30-minute meal period in which the employee is relieved of all duties. So long as an employee is otherwise relieved of all duties, taking required preventive cool-down rest breaks is a work assignment that is not inconsistent with required meal and rest periods.Īs always, If an employee feels sick (including as a result the air quality or heat indexes) the employee may use any available sick leave under the Oregon Sick Leave laws.īOLI rules, an employee who is not working as a first responder may also use available sick leave when a public official has determined that the air quality or heat indexes at either the employee’s work location or home are at a level where continued exposure to such levels would jeopardize the health of the employee. These heat illness prevention rest breaks can take place at the same time as required meal or rest periods if the timing of the break coincides with the required meal or rest period. (OSHA’s rule provides three options for scheduling these, regardless of the length of the shift.) Protections, employers must provide employees who perform work under high heat index conditions with heat illness prevention rest breaks. See Oregon OSHA’s website for details on required These new rules become effective June 15, 2022. In May 2022, Oregon-OSHA announced new rules regarding workplace hazards posed by excessive heat. Rest and meal periods and heat illness prevention
