Federal Break Laws: An Ultimate Guide + State Breakdown

Since this is now a federal break law, we’ll only include mention below in states that go beyond this federal requirement.

While many states haven’t touched their rest and lunch break laws, some have enacted new employment laws in other areas that you’ll need to know, like time off, benefits, criminal histories, and salary. Learn more about state-specific payroll and labor laws in our guides—just click on your state from our state payroll directory, and you’ll be directed to a state-specific article.

Under Alabama law, workers aged 14 and 15 must be provided at least one 30-minute meal break if 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.

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. The duration of such breaks is up to the employer.

For breastfeeding employees, the employer may require employees to take a lactation break during another break, if the employer provides breaks. For all other employees, federal law applies.

California mandates employers provide employees with at least one 30-minute lunch break when the employee works at least five consecutive hours. If an employee is scheduled to work at least ten hours, a second break must be provided. This break can be waived through mutual consent if the employee works no more than six hours. If the employee works more than six hours, the meal break cannot be waived.

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 all work duties during these meal breaks. For example, if you require an employee to remain on premises for their 30-minute meal breaks, they must be paid at their typical hourly wage (or overtime rate, if that applies).

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

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 federal law, Colorado mandates that employees be paid for their meal breaks if they cannot completely remove themselves from work duties.

Certain employees must also receive at least a 10-minute rest break for every four hours worked and must be as close to the middle of the four-hour period as possible. Only employees in the following industries are entitled to this rest period:

• Retail
• Service
• Food and beverage
• Health
• Commercial support

Employees who need to express breast milk are entitled to a break of unspecified time for up to two years after their child’s birth.

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.

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.

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. This break must be given after the first two hours of work and before the last two. If an employee is not fully relieved of their work duties, this break must be paid. For employees under age 18, companies must give this break when a worker is scheduled to work over five consecutive hours.

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.

Delaware requires employers to provide paid lactation breaks for employees. This break is determined solely by the employee and their needs.

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. Employees must also receive an additional 20-minute meal break for every additional four-and-a-half hours worked.

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

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 20-minute meal break for employees working at least seven-and-a-half consecutive hours. This meal break must start no sooner than the third hour of work and no later than the fifth. As with federal law, this break does not have to be paid so long as the employee can completely disconnect from their work duties.

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 a 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

Employers are required to provide breastfeeding employees with a break for up to three years after their child’s birth. For all other situations, the federal rule applies.

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 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

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 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.

Most New York employees working over six hours 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. 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. Also, employees 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.

Oregon Meal Breaks

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.

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.

Washington law requires employers not in the agricultural industry to provide employees 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.

Minor employees aged 14 and 15 must be provided with a 30-minute break for every four consecutive hours worked.

Washington goes beyond 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

Workers must also receive rest breaks of at least 10 minutes for every four hours worked. These rest breaks must be scheduled as closely as possible to the middle of the four-hour window as possible.

Breastfeeding employees are entitled to a break to pump for two years after their child’s birth.