School Cafeteria Workers Guaranteed Paid Training: New Bill Mandates Pay for All Professional Development

If you’ve ever worked a job that requires mandatory training outside of your normal shift—and you didn’t get paid for it—you know how frustrating that is. This new piece of legislation, the Improving Training for School Food Service Workers Act of 2025, aims to eliminate that headache entirely for the people who keep our kids fed: school cafeteria staff.

This bill amends the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (specifically Section 1776(g)(2)(B)) to set clear, non-negotiable rules for how required training must be handled. Simply put, all mandatory training for local food service personnel must occur during regular paid work hours, including any applicable overtime, and it must be free for the worker. No more clocking out to learn a new safety protocol or update a certification. This is a significant change that moves the financial burden of professional development squarely onto the employer (the school district) where it belongs.

The 'You Get Paid' Rule: Ending Unpaid Labor

The core of this legislation is the guarantee of compensation. The bill states that any required training must be conducted “during regular work hours, and you've got to get paid for it at your normal rate, including any overtime you might earn.” This means if your shift ends at 2:30 PM but the mandatory food safety course runs until 4:30 PM, the school district has to pay you for those extra two hours, including overtime if it pushes you over 40 hours for the week. For a cafeteria worker juggling a part-time wage and rising costs, this is real money that ensures they aren't losing income just to meet job requirements.

Scheduling Sanity: Negotiating the Exceptions

The bill understands that sometimes, training must happen outside of the regular schedule—maybe it’s a specialized session that can only be done when the kitchen is empty. The legislation addresses this by requiring employers to make a “real effort to tell the staff why that's necessary.” Crucially, they must also consult with staff to schedule it at a time that causes the “least disruption to their lives.” Even if it is outside your normal shift, the rule remains: you must still get paid your regular rate, including overtime if applicable. While the term “least disruption” is a little vague and could lead to some negotiation disputes, the mandatory pay requirement holds firm, providing a strong baseline protection.

Protection from Penalties

Another key provision is the protection against retaliation. The bill explicitly states that food service workers “absolutely cannot be punished or treated unfairly if they can't make it to a training session.” This protects workers who might have legitimate conflicts—like childcare issues or a second job—from facing disciplinary action or losing their job simply because they couldn't attend a session that was poorly scheduled or unavoidable. This provision acknowledges the reality that many school support staff are juggling complex personal lives.

Who Pays for This?

While this bill is a clear win for the workers, it does shift a tangible cost to school districts and Local Education Agencies (LEAs). Mandating that all training be paid, often at overtime rates, means schools will see an increase in their payroll expenses for the food service department. For a large district, these costs could be substantial. However, the legislation ensures that the quality of training—and the quality of the staff serving students—doesn't come at the expense of the workers themselves. The bill also makes it clear that these new training rules don't override any existing federal, state, or local employment laws, meaning workers retain all other protections they currently have.