Rest & Lunch Break Laws in 2021: An Ultimate Guide

Rest and lunch break laws vary by state, so depending on where your company operates, you may be obligated to provide breaks to employees.

To help you understand these laws and ensure your business complies with federal, state, and local break laws, we’ve put together this ultimate guide. Where state law is silent about breaks, always assume federal law applies.

Federal Laws

Rest and lunch breaks are covered by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). Referred to as break and meal periods by the DOL, federal law does not require them. The DOL does, however, provide information about whether companies must pay employees for those breaks if they are provided.

The DOL states that rest breaks, which would include coffee and snack breaks that last less than 20 minutes must be paid. Ultimately, these brief breaks are part of the employee’s total work hours.

However, if you have an employee who takes a longer rest break than what is allowed under your company policy, you do not have to include that extra time as part of their workday. For example, if your company provides employees with a 10-minute rest break and an employee takes 30 minutes, you would not need to pay the employee for 20 minutes. For repeated violations, you could discipline the employee, which is why it is crucial that you have a break policy in your company handbook.

Lunch breaks, however, are different. Because meal breaks are generally longer (over 30 minutes) and take employees away from work, the DOL states meal breaks do not need to be paid. However, you must pay the employee, even during their lunch break, if any of the following applies:

• An employee cannot step away from work
• The employee is called back to work during a lunch break
• Your employee cannot otherwise completely clock out from work

For example, you must pay a receptionist who sits at a front desk greeting customers and answering calls during their lunch break. Even if they are mostly eating, because they are at their desk and on-call to answer phones, you must pay the employee for this break.

However, if you have someone step in during the receptionist’s lunch break so the employee can completely step away from their duties, then you would not have to pay the receptionist for the lunch break. Ultimately, if an employee cannot step away from their duties, even if they are on-call or waiting to work, you must pay them.

State Laws

Now that we know federal law does not require breaks but that certain breaks must be paid, we need to look closely at state laws. Some states require breaks for certain employees, along with other nuances. Here are the specific rest and lunch break laws your business needs to know in every state.

Alabama

Under Alabama law, workers aged 14 and 15 must be provided at least one 30-minute meal break if they are scheduled to work for five consecutive hours or more. For all other workers, Alabama law has no requirements for rest or lunch breaks. This means the federal rules apply to any employee aged 16 or older.

Alaska

Alaska employers must provide a meal break to employees aged 14 through 17. These breaks only need to be provided if the employee is scheduled to work at least five consecutive hours. Alaska further stipulates that the break must occur after the first 90 minutes of work and before the start of the employee’s last scheduled hour of work. For all other workers, the federal law applies.

Arizona

Arizona has no laws requiring rest or lunch breaks for employees, so the federal law applies.

Arkansas

Arkansas does not require employers to provide rest or lunch breaks to employees unless the worker is under age 16 and employed in the entertainment industry. For all other employees, the federal law applies.

California

California mandates employers provide employees with at least one 30-minute lunch break when the employee works at least five consecutive hours. This break can be waived through mutual consent. California also requires a second meal break if an employee is scheduled to work over 10 consecutive hours. If the first break period was not waived, the second meal break can be waived with mutual consent. The first meal break cannot begin any later than the fifth hour of work and the second meal break must begin no later than the end of the employee’s 10th hour of work. For these employees, they must be paid if they cannot step away from work during these meal breaks.

California further states that employees must receive one 10-minute rest break for every four hours worked. If an employee is scheduled to work less than four hours, California does not require employers to provide a rest break.

Colorado

Colorado law requires businesses to provide employees with one meal break of at least 30 minutes if the employee is scheduled to work at least five consecutive hours. As with the federal law, Colorado mandates that employees be paid for their meal breaks if they cannot completely remove themselves from work duties.

Connecticut

Connecticut law mandates that companies give employees a 30-minute meal break if the employee is scheduled to work at least seven-and-a-half consecutive hours or more. This break must occur after the first two hours of work and before the last two hours of work.

Connecticut allows an employer to be exempt from this requirement by meeting one of the following conditions:

• Complying with this law would endanger public safety.
• Only one employee can do the work needed for this position.
• The company employs fewer than five workers.
• The business is such that employees must be available to respond to customer needs and are compensated for their meal breaks.

Delaware

Under Delaware law, businesses must give employees a meal break of at least 30 minutes when they are scheduled to work seven-and-a-half consecutive hours or more. For employees under age 18, companies must give this break when a worker is scheduled to work over five consecutive hours. This meal break must occur between the first two hours of work and before the last two.

This law allows for exemptions under certain circumstances:

• Complying with the law would adversely affect public safety.
• There is only one employee who can do the duties of the job.
• The business employs fewer than five people at one location.
• The nature of the business requires that employees respond to urgent matters at all times and that employees are compensated for their meal breaks.

Florida

Florida law requires that employees receive a 30-minute meal break if they are under age 18 and scheduled to work over four consecutive hours. For all other employees, the federal rule applies.

Georgia

Georgia has no laws requiring an employer to provide rest or lunch breaks to employees, so the federal rule applies.

Hawaii

Hawaii has no laws requiring rest or lunch breaks for employees, so the federal rule applies.

Idaho

Idaho does not have any laws requiring breaks for employees, so the federal rule applies.

Illinois

Illinois law requires employers to provide employees with a meal break of at least 20 minutes if the employee is scheduled to work seven-and-a-half consecutive hours or more. This meal break must be provided to an employee no later than the fifth hour of work.

For minors under age 16, your company must provide them a meal break of at least 30 minutes when they are scheduled to work over five consecutive hours. For all other situations, the federal law applies.

Indiana

Indiana does not have any laws requiring breaks for employees, so the federal law applies.

Iowa

Iowa law mandates that employers grant employees a meal break of at least 30 minutes if they are under age 16 and scheduled to work five or more consecutive hours. For all other situations, the federal rule applies.

Kansas

Kansas has no laws requiring breaks for employees, so the federal rule applies.

Kentucky

Kentucky law requires employers to provide employees with a rest break of at least 10 minutes for every four hours the employee is scheduled to work. Companies must pay employees for this rest break.

Companies must also provide a reasonable period for employees to take meal breaks. This meal break must start no sooner than the third hour of work and no later than the fifth. As with the federal law, this break does not have to be paid so long as the employee can completely disconnect from their work duties.

Louisiana

Under Louisiana law, employees must receive a meal break if they are under age 18 and scheduled to work five or more consecutive hours. For all other situations, the federal rule applies.

Maine

Maine law requires businesses to provide workers with a 30-minute rest break if they are scheduled to work at least six consecutive hours. This law does not apply if:

• There is an emergency where there is danger to property, life, public safety, or public health.
• The company has fewer than three workers on duty at one time and the nature of the work allows employees frequent paid breaks.

For all other situations, the federal rule applies.

Maryland

Maryland law requires companies to provide employees under age 18 with a 30-minute break for every five consecutive hours worked. Maryland also addresses retail employees directly. The Healthy Retail Employee Act requires certain businesses to provide employee breaks as follows:

• Fifteen-minute break for four to six hours of consecutive work
• Thirty-minute break for six to eight hours of consecutive work
• Thirty-minute break plus a 15-minute break for every additional four consecutive hours worked over eight hours

Massachusetts

Massachusetts requires companies to provide employees a 30-minute break if the employee is scheduled to work at least six consecutive hours. Employers in the following industries are not subject to this law:

• Iron works
• Glass works
• Paper mills
• Letterpress establishments
• Print works
• Bleaching works
• Dyeing works
• Factories and other establishments requiring continuous work

Michigan

Michigan employers are required to provide employees with a 30-minute break if the worker is under 18 and scheduled to work over five consecutive hours. For all other workers, the federal rule applies.

Minnesota

Minnesota law requires employers to give employees reasonable breaks if they are scheduled to work four or more consecutive hours. Companies must provide employees who are scheduled to work over eight consecutive hours a reasonable meal break. For all other situations, the federal rule applies.

Mississippi

Mississippi does not have any laws requiring breaks for employees, so the federal rule applies.

Missouri

Missouri does not require companies to provide workers with breaks, so the federal law applies.

Montana

Montana does not have any laws requiring employers to provide employees with breaks, so the federal rule applies.

Nebraska

Under Nebraska law, businesses employing workers in assembling plants, mechanical establishments, and workshops must provide those workers with a 30-minute lunch break if they are scheduled to work at least eight hours. For all other situations, the federal rule applies.

Nevada

Nevada law requires employers to provide employees with a meal break of at least 30 minutes if the employee is scheduled to work at least eight consecutive hours. Employers must also give employees a 10-minute break for every four hours worked.

For employees scheduled to work at least three-and-a-half consecutive hours, their employer must provide them:

• One 10-minute rest break if the employee is scheduled to work less than seven consecutive hours
• Two 10-minute rest breaks if the employee is scheduled to work over seven and less than 11 consecutive hours
• Three 10-minute rest breaks if the employee is scheduled to work over 11 and less than 15 consecutive hours
• Four 10-minute rest breaks if the employee is scheduled to work over 15 and less than 19 consecutive hours

The exceptions to this law include:

• Companies where there is only one employee
• Employees who have a collective bargaining agreement
• Special exemptions from the state Labor Commission

New Hampshire

New Hampshire law requires employers to give employees a 30-minute rest or lunch break if the employee is scheduled to work more than five consecutive hours. An employer may avoid the 30-minute break if the employee is allowed to eat and work at the same time. For all other situations, the federal rule applies.

New Jersey

Under New Jersey law, employees under age 18 must receive a 30-minute break if they work at least five consecutive hours. For all other situations, the federal law applies.

New Mexico

New Mexico has no laws requiring employers to provide employees with breaks, so the federal rule applies.

New York

New York has one of the most complex break laws in the nation. Paying close attention to these rules will help to keep your company out of legal trouble.

Employees working for most New York businesses must receive at least a 30-minute meal break during the noonday meal period sometime between the hours of 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Any employee who works over six hours during the noonday meal period must receive at least a 30-minute meal break during that window of time. For factory employees, these meal breaks must be at least one hour.

For every employee working a shift starting before 11 a.m. and continuing later than 7 p.m., companies must provide an additional meal period of at least 20 minutes between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m., besides the noonday meal break. Every employee starting a shift between 1 p.m. and 6 a.m., must be provided at least 60 minutes for a meal break when employed by a factory and 45 minutes for a meal break when employed by a mercantile or other establishment.

If an employer applies for and receives approval from the New York Department of Labor to have shorter meal breaks, it must post the approval in a conspicuous place, along with the company policy for meal breaks. It’s important to note that the New York Department of Labor may revoke this permit at any time.

North Carolina

North Carolina law requires employers to provide employees 14 or 15 years old with a 30-minute break when they are scheduled to work at least five consecutive hours. For other situations, the federal rule applies.

North Dakota

Under North Dakota law, companies must provide employees with a 30-minute meal break when they are scheduled to work over five consecutive hours and there are two or more employees on duty. For other situations, the federal law applies.

Ohio

In Ohio, employers must provide employees under age 18 with a 30-minute break if the employee is scheduled to work at least five consecutive hours. For all other situations, the federal law applies.

Oklahoma

Oklahoma law requires employers to give employees under age 16 a 30-minute rest break if they are scheduled to work at least five consecutive hours. In addition, businesses must provide all employees under age 16 one cumulative hour of rest breaks for each eight hours worked.

For all other employees, the federal rule applies.

Oregon

Oregon law requires businesses to provide workers with at least one 30-minute meal break if the employee is scheduled to work at least six consecutive hours. The number of meal breaks required is determined by the number of consecutive hours an employee is scheduled to work:

• Up to six hours – no meal breaks required
• Six to 14 hours – one meal break
• Fourteen to 22 hours – two meal breaks
• Twenty-two to 24 hours – three meal breaks

Oregon also sets forth when the meal breaks must occur in an employee’s shift:

• If an employee works less than seven hours, the meal break must start no earlier than the end of their second hour and end no later than the start of the fifth hour of work.
• If an employee works over seven hours, the meal break must start no earlier than the end of the third hour and end no later than the start of the sixth hour of work.

There are exceptions to this rule for employees over the age of 18, where an employer can show an undue hardship on the business if they were required to give an employee a meal break. The employer must show that they provide workers with adequate paid rest breaks, have each employee sign a waiver, and give notice of the company policy on rest breaks. Oregon employers may also require employees to work through their meal breaks if the employee is paid for their break.

Oregon has separate requirements for rest breaks. For every four hours worked, an employee must receive an uninterrupted, paid, 10-minute rest break. For employees under age 18, the rest break time increases to 15 minutes. Oregon law specifically states that the rest breaks must occur in the middle of each four-hour segment and are separate from meal breaks.

Oregon employers do not have to provide rest breaks when all of the following conditions are met:

• The employee is at least 18 years old.
• The employee works less than five hours in any rolling 16-hour window.
• The employee works alone.
• The employee works in retail or service.
• The employer allows the employee to leave their assigned work area when the employee needs to use the restroom.

Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania law requires employers to provide employees with a 30-minute break if the employee is under age 18 and scheduled to work at least five consecutive hours. For all other situations, the federal rule applies.

Rhode Island

Rhode Island requires companies to provide workers with a 20-minute lunch break during a six-hour shift and a 30-minute lunch break during an eight-hour shift. For all other employee situations, the federal rule applies.

South Carolina

South Carolina has no law requiring breaks, so the federal rule applies.

South Dakota

South Dakota has no law mandating breaks for employees, so the federal rule applies.

Tennessee

Tennessee law requires employers to give employees a 30-minute rest break if the employee is scheduled to work at least six consecutive hours. The only exception is if an employer can show the nature of the business provides an ample opportunity for employees to take rest breaks throughout the day. For all other situations, the federal law applies.

Texas

Texas has no laws requiring employee breaks, so the federal rule applies.

Utah

Utah law requires companies to give employees a meal break of at least 30 minutes if the employee is under age 18 and scheduled to work at least five consecutive hours. For employees under age 18, employers must give them at least one 10-minute break for every three hours worked.

For all other employees, the federal rule applies.

Vermont

Vermont law mandates that employers must give employees a reasonable opportunity to eat and use toilet facilities. Beyond that, Vermont has no laws requiring breaks, so the federal law applies.

Virginia

Under Virginia law, employees aged 14 or 15 who are scheduled to work more than five consecutive hours must receive a meal break of at least 30 minutes. For all other employees, the federal law applies.

Washington

Washington law requires employers not in the agricultural industry to provide employees who are scheduled to work at least five consecutive hours with at least one 30-minute meal break. Additionally, employers must provide employees with a 30-minute meal break for every five consecutive hours worked. These meal breaks must start at least two hours into the employee’s shift and end no later than the fifth consecutive hour worked.

Washington goes beyond the federal law to determine whether an employee should be paid for the meal break. Businesses in Washington must pay employees during meal breaks if the company:

• Requires the employee to remain on duty
• Requires the employee to remain on call even if the employee is not otherwise working
• Calls an employee back to work during their meal break

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., does not have any specific laws requiring employee breaks, so the federal rule applies.

West Virginia

West Virginia law states that employers must give employees a meal break of at least 20 minutes if the employee is scheduled to work at least six consecutive hours. For employees under 16, the meal break must occur if they are scheduled to work at least five consecutive hours.

Wisconsin

For employees under 18, Wisconsin law mandates that employers provide at least 30 minute meal breaks when the employee is scheduled to work over six consecutive hours. For all other employees, the federal law applies.

Wyoming

Wyoming does not require companies to give employees breaks, so the federal rule applies.

Bottom Line

Some states make it easy on employers by simply following the federal rules for break periods. Other states make it more difficult to follow the laws. By knowing and understanding the break laws that apply to your company, you can ensure your business treats employees fairly and stays out of legal trouble.

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