Meal Compliance FAQ
Answers to common setup and operating questions about Meal Compliance.
For what the app is and how to set it up from scratch, see the
Meal Compliance Overview.
Setup
Do I need Time & Attendance running before Meal Compliance works?
Yes. Meal Compliance reads meal-break clock punches from Time & Attendance to detect behavior patterns. Without those punches, the detection window has no data to analyze and no behavior is classified. Time & Attendance does not need any special configuration — Meal Compliance reads its break records directly.
Does the E-Signature app need to be enabled for waivers to work?
No. When Require E-Signature is on in your Meal Compliance settings, sending a waiver for signature generates a PDF and routes it through the E-Signature app. If you have not enabled the E-Signature app, the “Send for Signature” action tells you which app to enable. You can still create waivers and use the Activate action to put them in force after collecting a signature outside the platform.
Permissions and access
Who can create and invalidate waivers?
Administrators, HR admins, and Meal Compliance app admins have full access to all employees’ waivers. A manager can create or invalidate a waiver only for their own direct reports. Employees cannot create or invalidate waivers.
Who can see the Compliance Gaps report and CSV export?
Only administrators, HR admins, and Meal Compliance app admins. Managers do not have access to compliance reports. These reports name individual employees and their break behavior across the organization.
What can employees see in the app?
Every employee sees a My Breaks tab showing their own waiver status, recent break-behavior history, and a signing link for any pending waiver. They cannot see other employees’ waivers, break behavior, or compliance data. The My Breaks page is also available on mobile.
Day-to-day
How does behavior detection decide whether someone is waiving or taking meal breaks?
The system reads meal-break punches from Time & Attendance over the detection window (default 14 days, configurable 7–90). Each day is scored: taken if all meal breaks were completed, waived if all were skipped, or mixed if some were completed and others skipped. When 70% or more of days are waived, the pattern is classified as Waiving. When 70% or more are taken, it is Taking. Below that threshold, or when there are fewer days of data than the Minimum days for reliable detection setting (default 3, configurable 1–14), the pattern is Inconsistent.
What happens when a waiver is sent for e-signature?
The system generates a PDF with voluntary-consent language, the employee’s name, jurisdiction, location, validity dates, and any per-meal-period elections. It creates a signature request through the E-Signature app and emails a signing link to the employee. The waiver moves to Pending signature and activates automatically when the employee signs.
Can I edit a waiver after creating it?
No. Waivers cannot be edited. If the details are wrong, invalidate it and create a new one. This is by design — a signed legal document should not change after the fact.
What happens when a waiver expires?
A background sweep runs every 4 hours and marks date-expired waivers as Expired. Before that, a renewal reminder email goes to the employee (default 14 days before expiry, configurable 1–60 days). Once expired, the waiver stops counting as active. If the employee is still skipping meals, they reappear in the Compliance Gaps report.
What does “Auto-Invalidate on Behavior Change” do?
When enabled (it is on by default), the system automatically invalidates an employee’s active waiver when their detected break pattern shifts to the opposite of what the waiver states. For example, if an employee has a waiver saying they skip meals but detection shows they are now consistently taking them, the waiver is invalidated and the employee is notified. With this setting off, the behavior change is logged and can trigger an alert, but the waiver stays in force.
When something looks wrong
Why isn’t behavior detection finding any patterns?
Behavior detection needs meal-break clock punches in Time & Attendance. If employees are not recording meal breaks — or if the detection window is shorter than the Minimum days for reliable detection setting — no patterns are classified. Check that Time & Attendance is active and that employees are clocking meal breaks.
I turned on “Require E-Signature” but the Send for Signature button says the E-Signature app isn’t enabled
The Require E-Signature setting in Meal Compliance is separate from having the E-Signature app enabled for your organization. Both must be true. Ask an administrator to enable the E-Signature app in the Apps Marketplace.
An employee says their waiver was invalidated but nobody did it manually
Three things can invalidate a waiver automatically: the Auto-Invalidate on Behavior Change setting (when the employee’s break pattern reverses), the autonomous mode (when enabled and approved), or a form-version retirement (when an administrator re-collects waivers on a newer form). Check the waiver’s detail page for the invalidation reason.
My dashboard shows 0 behavior alerts but the Behavior Alerts card lists employees
The dashboard tile counts behavior changes from the last 7 days. The card also shows only changes from the last 7 days. If the numbers disagree, a sweep may have just run. Refresh the page — the count and the list are drawn from the same 7-day window.
Autonomous mode
How does autonomous mode work?
Autonomous mode is off by default. When enabled, an AI loop runs every 4 hours to detect compliance gaps, expiring waivers, and behavior changes. For gaps and expiring waivers, it sends notification emails automatically. Behavior-change actions (such as invalidating a waiver) require admin approval before they execute. You control how much it does with three settings: Minimum confidence (80–100%, default 95), Max actions per day (1–500, default 50), and Trust level (Probation, Standard, or Trusted; default Probation).
Do I need autonomous mode turned on to get expiry and gap reminders?
No. The autonomous scheduler sends expiry and compliance-gap reminders for any entitled tenant, whether or not autonomous mode is enabled. Autonomous mode adds the ability to take action (such as invalidating waivers), not just to send reminders.
Licensing and limits
Does Meal Compliance require a licence?
Yes. It is disabled by default. An administrator enables it for your organization from the Apps Marketplace.
What are the configurable ranges and limits?
| Setting | Range | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Detection window | 7–90 days | 14 |
| Minimum days for reliable detection | 1–14 | 3 |
| Default waiver expiry | 30–730 days | 365 |
| Expiry reminder lead time | 1–60 days | 14 |
| Minimum confidence (autonomous) | 80–100% | 95 |
| Max autonomous actions per day | 1–500 | 50 |
| Waiver notes | up to 2,000 characters | — |
| CSV export | up to 10,000 waivers per download | — |
| Autonomous run cadence | every 4 hours | — |
| Break compliance enforcement mode | Observe or Enforce | Observe |
More help
- Meal Compliance Overview
- Ask AI — the assistant answers Meal Compliance questions from these articles.