I have an hourly employee that has been given a written department lunch and break schedule but refuses to comply with procedures. Instead of taking too much time, she takes no lunch break. The company HR Dept says that this is in violation of Wage and Labor Laws because if she eats and works at her desk then this is considered time that should be paid as overtime. However, we have told her over and over that she can not be paid for this time because it has not been pre-approved nor have we asked her to work through her lunch. She doesn't report this extra time on her time sheet, but our fear is that she can go back on us and demand that she be paid overtime for all these days she has worked her lunch. Is this truly an issue of concern?

Rita Risser replies:

Yes, this is an issue for concern. If she files with the Dept. of Labor she could get back overtime, worse yet, she may open a can of worms. Who knows what else is going on in your company. What she is doing, however, is insubordination. You can give her an oral, written, and final written warning, and then terminate her for violating a direct order. However, get HR behind you on this all the way.