This is true even if the employee is not actively working and is simply on duty in case someone calls or an emergency comes up. Importantly, employers cannot automatically deduct meal breaks from an employee's hours worked if an employee chooses to work through the meal break.
Ing to the Department of Labor (DOL) and the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), it is legal for employers to automatically deduct lunch time. That is, of course, if the employee actually takes lunch.
Denying Meal or Rest Breaks in Florida As per the details above, in most cases, it is unlikely that employees can sue their employer specifically for failing to provide meal or rest breaks in Florida.
Generally speaking, yes an employer may require that their employees take breaks, even if they are not required to provide them under the law; there is nothing in the law that would prevent them from doing so.
Florida has a few laws that provide greater protections to employees than federal law, including protection against discrimination based on marital status, a higher minimum wage and health care continuation coverage obligations for smaller employers, and generally follows federal law on topics such as consumer credit ...
It is not legal in the US per OSHA regulations for an employer to work an employee 8 hours without a scheduled break. In fact, the OSHA rules are to be posted in every break room.
If you work for more than 6 hours a day, you're entitled to an uninterrupted rest break of at least 20 minutes - for example a tea or lunch break.