Federal rules on pay, breaks and records affecting McDonald's workers

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division provides the authoritative federal guidance that fast-food and restaurant workers, including McDonald’s crew, should know about pay, breaks and time records. Two core fact sheets — Fact Sheet #2 on restaurants and fast food establishments and Fact Sheet #22 on hours worked — explain what the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) treats as compensable work time, rules on meal and rest breaks, and employers’ recordkeeping obligations.

Under the guidance, short breaks are generally compensable work time, while bona fide meal periods when an employee is completely relieved of duties are not. The fact sheets outline common scenarios that matter at the counter, drive-thru and in the kitchen: whether pre-shift prep, brief check-ins while clocked out, or closing cleanup should be paid depends on whether the worker is performing work and how much they are relieved of duty. Employers are required to keep accurate payroll and hours records that reflect all compensable time.

Federal rules provide a baseline; many states offer additional protections or different break rules. The DOL guidance explains how federal standards interact with state break laws, so workers who think they are missing paid time or being denied protected breaks should check both the FLSA guidance and their state labor rules. The Wage and Hour Division site is the primary federal entry point for filing complaints, locating local WHD offices and understanding compliance obligations.

For McDonald’s employees dealing with off-the-clock work, unpaid short tasks, or unclear meal-break practices, the guidance is practical: document your shift start and end times, note instances when you were asked to work during unpaid periods, and keep pay stubs or timecard screenshots. If internal conversations with managers do not resolve an issue, the WHD’s offices can accept complaints and investigate potential FLSA violations.

The DOL maintains the fact sheets and resources on its website; you can review Fact Sheet #2 and Fact Sheet #22 at the Wage and Hour Division pages (see dol.gov/whd and dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs22.pdf). Those pages also include a tool to find your local WHD office and information on how to file a complaint.

The takeaway? Keep a paper trail of your shifts, note when you’re asked to work off the clock, and raise problems with management first. If that doesn’t fix it, use the DOL resources and your state labor office to pursue unpaid wages or break violations. Our two cents? Treat timekeeping like your cash drawer — if something doesn’t add up, document it and don't be shy about getting the feds involved.