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but, in the same breath, admitted that she has eaten at the
Fashion Mall during a break, and that she has run errands at the
mall during her breaks. We also note that the labor agreements
refer to free meals but are silent on the requirement that
employees stay on the premises. Why does not one of these
agreements state clearly a prohibition against leaving the
property if that was the driving force for the free meals?
We conclude that the meals of none of the employees qualify under
section 119 because of inadequate eating facilities.
6. Food Service Employees
An employer furnishes a meal to an employee for a
substantial noncompensatory business reason if the employee is a
food service employee and the employee receives the meals for
meal periods during which he or she works. Sec.
1.119-1(a)(2)(ii)(d), Income Tax Regs. That the meal is
furnished during, immediately before, or immediately after the
employee's working hours is irrelevant to this factor. Id.
The parties agree that most of the food service employees,
by job description, may exclude their meals under section 119.
They disagree, however, that the cocktail waitresses, bartenders,
and barbacks are "food service employees". Petitioners contend
that these categories of employees are "food service employees"
because they are part of petitioners' integrated food and
beverage service operation. We disagree. None of these
employees work in a restaurant or are connected therewith. The
employees in these three job descriptions work mainly in
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