A Tennessee emergency care nurse claimed she worked through her unpaid 30-minute lunch break somewhere between often and always. So, she sued the hospital where she worked on behalf of herself and all others similarly situated, seeking pay for the meal breaks. True, the hospital automatically deducted the half hour each workday, but the nurse also had an obligation.

What happened. "Wilson" worked for Baptist Memorial Health Care Corp. in Memphis from August 2005 to August 2007. Her shifts apparently always included the time set aside for lunch, which was automatically deducted from workers' paychecks. In fact, Baptist Memorial's employee handbook told employees that would be the case.

But it also said that anyone unable to take his or her meal break, or if the break was interrupted, should say so on an “exception log.” If he or she failed to do so, there was an additional procedure for correcting payroll errors. And, Wilson signed her acknowledgment of those circumstances when she was hired.

She later testified that at the beginning, she logged in her missed or interrupted breaks and was compensated for them. But, stating she believed it was an “uphill battle,” she eventually stopped following the procedures to report missed breaks and simply complained to HR and supervisors that she was being docked for breaks that she, and often her entire nursing unit, were unable to take.

In 2008, after leaving Baptist Memorial, Wilson sued in federal district court, charging violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) for an entire class of hospital employees. The hospital argued that had she followed proper reporting procedures, she would have been paid, and that it had done what it could to ensure she was. The judge agreed, and Wilson appealed to the 6th Circuit, which covers Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee.

What the court said. Many employment law experts counsel against automatic break deductions, for exactly the reasons Wilson complained about. But appellate judges wrote, “An automatic meal deduction system is lawful under the FLSA,” noting that the U.S. Postal Service uses such a system. And the advantage isn’t to the employer alone; it’s easier for employees not to have to punch out for lunch and punch back in.

We don’t know why Wilson stopped reporting her missed breaks, but all bets were off when she did. The employer didn’t know she’d worked through them, and she lost her case. White v. Baptist Memorial, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit, No. 11-5717 (11/6/12).

Point to remember: The employer did all it could to ensure workers were paid properly, which served it well in court.