by Richelle Hallows
As 17-year-old Sheila Seat handed a customer a snow cone, she thought about how she had been standing for at least five hours and wanted to sit.
A Norman High School student, Seat spends 25 hours a week working at Eskimo Sno without ever being able to take a break.
“We receive no breaks ever,” she said. “It really pisses me off that we don’t get breaks. If we even sit down, we’ll get fired.”
Eskimo Sno’s owner sees it differently, noting that usually “only one person is working the shift, so if they had a break then the store would have to close, and it’s not very rigorous work.”
“Normally, our shifts run five or six hours,” said Adrian Buendia. “This isn’t long enough for a break, and no one asks for a break.”
No Oklahoma law requires employers to give a break to employees who are 16 or older, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
But California, Colorado, Kentucky, Minnesota, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont and Washington require meal breaks and paid rest periods for employees, according the agency’s website.
Oklahoma requires a mandatory break only for workers age 14 and 15.
Under Oklahoma’s Child Labor Law 14- and 15-year-olds are allowed to work only eight hours a day and 40 hours a week when school is out. Their work hours are restricted and they must receive a 30-minute break for every five hours worked and a one-hour break for every eight hours worked.
Seat works at Eskimo Sno in Norman, Okla., for five to six hours a day and about 25 hours a week. She makes snow cones most of the time but sometimes has to clean by picking up gallon containers, scrubbing trashcans, cleaning containers and cleaning the bathrooms.
Seat said making snow cones for six hours is hard work and usually makes her hungry. But Eskimo Sno employees are not allowed to bring snacks. However, they can have a snow cone.
“It’s really both a physical and mental strain to stand for six hours making snow cones and lifting things,” she said. “It’s just exhausting.”
Seat said a law should require at least meal breaks for teens because it makes employees more pleasant.
While Seat doesn’t get a break and isn’t allowed to eat, other eateries allow their employees to do so.
Though Oklahoma law doesn’t require breaks, the Outback Steakhouse in Norman allows one-hour meal breaks for employees who work eight-hour shifts. Christina Mejia, 23, has worked at Outback Steakhouse for three years as a server.
“Even if you don’t work eight hours, we are allowed to bring in snacks that we can snack on throughout the day, which is a nice treat,” she said. “Overall, working at Outback has been a good experience.”
The steakhouse is not the only restaurant to give its employees breaks. All employees at a Panera Bread restaurant in Norman, including the teenaged employees, are allowed a 30-minute break for every six hours worked.
A Panera Bread shift supervisor said she wants her employees to have a good experience while working at the restaurant.
“I do think our employees deserve breaks because they work hard and we want them to have a good time,” Chelsea Dunaway said. “Without breaks to eat, they would be miserable.”
For Lester Claravall, getting teens to have a positive job experience is important. Part of his job as director of the state Labor Department’s child labor unit is working with schools to teach teenagers their rights as employees. He also enforces the state’s labor laws.
Claravall said he wants to keep teens safe as they gain job experience. He has worked in the child labor unit for 17 years. Should Oklahoma have laws requiring teens get a break on the job?
“No comment,” Claravall said.
He explained that the laws put in place to give students the opportunity to do well in school while being able to have the experience of a first job.
“If someone has a problem and they feel as if they need to give teens breaks, then I would recommend they get in contact with the lawmakers,” he said.
