How break laws work across the states
The federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) doesn’t require meal or rest breaks for adult employees. What it does say is how to count the breaks you give: short rest breaks, usually 20 minutes or less, are paid work time, and a bona fide meal period, typically 30 minutes or more, can be unpaid only if the employee is completely relieved from duty.
What federal law says about breaks
- Short rest breaks are paid. Breaks of about 5 to 20 minutes count as hours worked and must be paid.
- Real meal breaks can be unpaid. A bona fide meal period, usually 30 minutes or more, doesn’t have to be paid if the employee is completely relieved from duty.
- Working lunches are paid. If someone eats at their station while answering the phone, watching the register or staying on call, that time is work time.
Federal rules also protect nursing employees: for up to one year after a child’s birth, employers must give reasonable break time and a private space, other than a bathroom, to pump breast milk. Most employers are covered. That time must be paid if the employee isn’t completely relieved from duty, or if they use a break you already pay for.
States fill in the rest. Some require a meal period once a shift passes a set length. Some also require paid rest breaks. Others leave breaks for adults entirely to company policy. If your crew works in more than one state, each state’s rule applies to the work done there.
States that require meal periods for adults
This summary follows the U.S. Department of Labor’s table of state meal period rules for adult private-sector employees, last revised January 1, 2023, plus Colorado’s current rule order. Each state has exemptions not shown here, often for executive, administrative and professional employees, union contracts or specific industries.
- California. A 30-minute meal period when work runs more than 5 hours in a day, with a second one after 10 hours. Limited waivers are allowed by mutual consent. Paid rest: 10 minutes for each 4 hours worked or major fraction of 4 hours. See our California break laws guide for timing, waivers and a sample shift.
- Colorado. A 30-minute uninterrupted, duty-free meal period when a shift runs more than 5 consecutive hours. If that isn’t practical, an on-duty meal must be fully paid. Paid rest: 10 minutes for each 4 hours of work or major fraction, under the current COMPS Order.
- Connecticut. 30 minutes for employees working 7½ consecutive hours or more, after the first 2 hours and before the last 2.
- Delaware. 30 minutes for employees working 7½ consecutive hours or more, after the first 2 hours and before the last 2.
- Illinois. At least 20 minutes, starting no later than 5 hours into the work period, for employees working 7½ continuous hours or more. Hotel room attendants in counties of more than three million people have separate meal and paid rest rules.
- Kentucky. A reasonable off-duty meal period, ordinarily 30 minutes, between the 3rd and 5th hour of work. Paid rest: 10 minutes during each 4-hour work period, in addition to the meal period.
- Maine. 30 minutes after 6 consecutive hours, with an exception for very small crews that get frequent paid breaks.
- Maryland. Shift breaks apply only to larger retail employers: 15 minutes for 4 to 6 consecutive hours, or 30 minutes for more than 6.
- Massachusetts. A 30-minute meal break for each 6 hours worked in a day, free of all duties and free to leave.
- Minnesota. Enough unpaid time to eat for employees working 8 consecutive hours or more. Paid rest: Adequate time within each 4 consecutive hours to use the nearest restroom. Rest breaks under 20 minutes can’t be deducted from hours worked.
- Nebraska. 30 minutes, off premises, in each 8-hour shift, but only in assembly plants, workshops and mechanical establishments.
- Nevada. 30 minutes when work runs 8 continuous hours, for employers of two or more people. Paid rest: 10 minutes for each 4 hours worked or major fraction.
- New Hampshire. 30 minutes after 5 consecutive hours, unless the employee can eat while working and the employer allows it.
- New York. A 30-minute midday meal for shifts over 6 hours that span the noonday meal period, with longer periods in factories and extra breaks for long and overnight shifts.
- North Dakota. 30 minutes, if the employee wants it, on each shift over 5 hours when two or more employees are on duty.
- Oregon. 30 minutes, relieved of all duty, for each work period of 6 to 8 hours, within set time windows. Paid rest: 10 minutes for every 4 hours worked or major portion, taken separately from the meal period.
- Rhode Island. 20 minutes within a 6-hour shift and 30 minutes within an 8-hour shift, with exceptions for licensed health care facilities and very small shifts.
- Tennessee. 30 minutes for employees scheduled to work 6 consecutive hours or more, not during or before the first hour.
- Vermont. Reasonable opportunities during work periods to eat and use the restroom.
- Washington. 30 minutes when work runs more than 5 consecutive hours, between the 2nd and 5th hour. Paid rest: 10 minutes for each 4 hours worked, and no more than 3 hours of work without a rest break.
- West Virginia. 20 minutes for employees working 6 hours or more, where they don’t otherwise get breaks or can’t eat while working.
Guam and Puerto Rico also have meal period rules. In Puerto Rico, work during the meal hour is paid at time and a half.
States that require paid rest breaks
Paid rest break rules for adults are much less common. Under the Labor Department’s table, they apply in California, Colorado, Kentucky, Minnesota, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont and Washington, and in Illinois only for certain hotel room attendants. All of these states also have meal period rules. The common pattern is a paid 10-minute break for each 4 hours worked, taken near the middle of the work period where practical.
How many breaks in an 8-hour shift?
Under federal law alone, none are required. Under state law it depends on where your crew works. In California, for example, an 8-hour shift generally comes with one 30-minute meal period and two paid 10-minute rest breaks (see California break laws). In a state with no break law, an adult employee can legally work a full shift without one, though most owners still give breaks to keep their crew sharp.
States with no adult break requirement
If your state isn’t listed above, there’s generally no state law requiring meal or rest breaks for adults in the private sector, and your own policy decides. New Jersey is one example. Its Department of Labor says the mandatory break law applies only to minors, and company policy sets breaks and lunches for anyone 18 or older. The federal rules on paying short breaks still apply everywhere.
Break rules for workers under 18
According to the Labor Department, 35 states and territories have meal period rules written specifically for minors. Where a minor is covered by both an adult rule and a minor rule, the stricter standard applies. If you hire teens, check your state’s child labor rules along with the break rules above.
Recording breaks the right way, in every state
- Write the rule for each location. List the meal and rest break rules that apply wherever your crew works, including job sites in other states.
- Match the punches to the rule. Have employees clock out and back in for unpaid meal periods, and keep short paid breaks on the clock.
- Don’t let an automatic deduction hide a missed break. If you automatically deduct a meal break, you still owe pay for any meal break an employee works through or cuts short.
- Write the policy down. Share your break policy with your crew and apply it the same way for everyone.
- Check breaks before you approve hours. A missed or short meal break is far easier to fix this week than to explain later.
- Recheck once a year. State rules change. The Labor Department itself says to consult the state labor office for official information.
How PunchOutPayroll helps
With PunchOutPayroll, employees start and end breaks from the time clock on their phones. If a break looks short or missing, they’re asked what happened, and the answer is saved with the day, so you can spot a problem before you approve hours. See break tracking for how it works. See how the employee time clock app works, or see the restaurant time clock and scheduling app and construction time tracking, where shift breaks matter most.
Sources and further reading
- U.S. Department of Labor: Breaks and meal periods
- U.S. Department of Labor: Minimum meal period requirements under state law (table revised January 1, 2023)
- U.S. Department of Labor: Minimum paid rest period requirements under state law (table revised January 1, 2023)
- U.S. Department of Labor: Fact Sheet #22, hours worked under the FLSA
- U.S. Department of Labor: FLSA protections to pump at work
- Colorado Department of Labor and Employment: COMPS Order #40, effective February 1, 2026
- New Jersey Department of Labor: Wage and hour compliance FAQs for employers
- U.S. Department of Labor: State labor offices