Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but yes. You need to be clocked out by the fifth hour and fifty ninth minute of your shift for a meal (or just clock out). Once you hit six hours, you hit compliance.
Although HR recently told us it was now five and a half hours...which I'm not sure how that works when you work 5-10:45...
You'll have to go talk to HR (or another LOD) and have to sign a book. They'll make you feel really bad about it (or at least my store does). I wouldn't say the ETL didn't tell you to leave because of not having an LPDA - I tried that and I got told it was
my responsibility, not the LOD's. Best you can do is apologize.
The reason they get really uptight about it is because it's the law. An employer can't withhold you from a meal if you work 6 hours and by going on compliance, that raises red flags for Target - which obviously no one wants. That's why they keep bugging everyone about taking meals on time.
I've only run into compliance twice in my (almost) four years at Target and it's not fun. The second time happened a couple weeks ago and HR let me have it. I guess next time just be anal about the time and if the LOD gives you a hard time about leaving, threaten compliance. They should let you go then.
