Recently, the New Brunswick Labour and Employment Board (the
"board") considered when employees must be paid for their
lunch breaks. This issue arises from time to time and is determined
based on the facts of each case (Arbour v. New Brunswick (Agriculture,
Aquaculture and Fisheries), 2012 CanLII 46857 (NB
LEB)).
What happened
Bernard Arbour ("Arbour") was employed as an
enforcement officer with the New Brunswick Department of
Agriculture, Aquaculture and Fisheries (the "employer").
As part of his duties, Arbour was required to inspect various sites
on the Bay of Fundy using a Zodiac boat with an outboard motor.
Given travel time and the time involved in launching the boat in
the bay, Arbour was normally at sea in the small boat during lunch.
Because of the nature of the tides and the time it would take to
get to a wharf, it was not a realistic option to pull the boat up
on shore or to tie it up at a wharf in order for Arbour to have his
lunch on shore. A
