Reference Source

21 records

Does my state legally require a lunch break or a rest break, and does my employer have to pay me for it?

21 records, one fact each. Every value is transcribed from the source that states it and carries the sentence it was taken from: 24 sources across 22 sites, last checked 2026-09-02, due for re-check by 2027-09-02. Every record is listed below, each linking the page its value came from.

Records21
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About this data

Most US states impose no meal- or rest-break requirement at all on private employers — federal law (the FLSA) doesn't require either. A minority of states do, and the rules vary sharply: the hours-worked threshold that triggers a meal break, its minimum length, whether it counts as paid time, and whether a separate rest break is owed on top of it, each set independently by that state's own statute or wage regulation. California requires a 30-minute meal break after 5 hours (a second after 10) and a paid 10-minute rest break per 4 hours; Illinois requires only a 20-minute meal break after 7.5 hours worked and no rest break at all; most states require neither. Free HR-vendor comparison charts on this topic (Paycor, HiveDesk, TimeClick) are comprehensive but cite no statute or regulation section, so a reader has no way to check a row against its source — and at least one such chart is already stale on Minnesota, whose meal- and rest-break law changed effective January 1, 2026. Each record is one state with a break requirement, giving the meal-break rule and the rest-break rule as the statute or regulation states them, each backed by a verbatim quote, plus the citation. States with no break requirement are omitted rather than asserted, since the absence itself has to be checked per state and isn't claimed here without a source stating it. Answers 'does my state require a lunch break', 'am I entitled to a paid break at work', 'how many hours can I work before I'm owed a break in [state]'.

The data

StateMeal break ruleRest break ruleStatute or regulation
CaliforniaAn employer shall not employ an employee for a work period of more than five hours per day without providing the employee with a meal period of not less than 30 minutesmust authorize and permit a net 10-minute paid rest period for every four hours worked or major fraction thereofCal. Labor Code § 512 (meal); Industrial Welfare Commission Wage Orders, per DLSE (rest)
ColoradoEmployees shall be entitled to an uninterrupted and duty-free meal period of at least a 30-minute duration when the shift exceeds 5 consecutive hoursEvery employer shall authorize and permit a compensated 10-minute rest period for each 4 hours of work, or major fractions thereof, for all employees7 CCR 1103-1-5 (COMPS Order #38, Rule 5)
ConnecticutNo person shall be required to work for seven and one-half or more consecutive hours without a period of at least thirty consecutive minutes for a mealConn. Gen. Stat. § 31-51ii
DelawareAn employer must allow an employee an unpaid meal break of at least 30 consecutive minutes, if the employee works 71/2 or more consecutive hours19 Del. C. § 707
IllinoisEvery employer shall permit its employees who are to work for 7 1/2 continuous hours, except those specified in this Section, at least 20 minutes for a meal period beginning no later than 5 hours after the start of the work period820 ILCS 140/3
KentuckyEmployers, except those subject to the Federal Railway Labor Act, shall grant their employees a reasonable period for lunch, and such time shall be as close to the middle of the employee's scheduled work shift as possibleNo employer shall require any employee to work without a rest period of at least ten (10) minutes during each four (4) hours workedKRS 337.355 (lunch period); KRS 337.365 (rest periods)
Mainemay be employed or permitted to work for no more than 6 consecutive hours at one time unless the employee is given the opportunity to take at least 30 consecutive minutes of rest time26 M.R.S. § 601
MarylandAn employer may not employ an employee at a retail establishment for more than 6 consecutive hours without providing a nonworking shift break of at least 30 minutesIf an employee works 8 consecutive hours in a single shift, the employer shall provide an additional nonworking shift break of at least 15 minutes for every additional 4 consecutive hours the employer employs the employee in the shiftMd. Code, Lab. & Empl. § 3-710
MassachusettsNo person shall be required to work for more than six hours during a calendar day without an interval of at least thirty minutes for a mealM.G.L. c. 149, § 100
MinnesotaAn employer must allow each employee who is working for six or more consecutive hours a meal break of at least 30 minutesAn employer must allow each employee a rest break of at least 15 minutes or enough time to utilize the nearest convenient restroom, whichever is longer, within each four consecutive hours of workMinn. Stat. § 177.254 (mandatory meal break); § 177.253 (mandatory work breaks)
Nebraskaowning or operating an assembling plant, workshop, or mechanical establishment employing one or more persons shall allow all of their employees not less than thirty consecutive minutes for lunch in each eight-hour shiftNeb. Rev. Stat. § 48-212
NevadaAn employer shall not employ an employee for a continuous period of 8 hours without permitting the employee to have a meal period of at least one-half hourThe duration of the rest periods shall be based on the total hours worked daily at the rate of 10 minutes for each 4 hours or major fraction thereofNRS 608.019
New HampshireAn employer may not require an employee to work more than 5 consecutive hours without granting him a 1/2 hour lunch or eating periodRSA 275:30-a
New YorkEvery person employed in or in connection with a factory shall be allowed at least sixty minutes for the noon day meal. 2. Every person employed in or in connection with a mercantile or other establishment or occupation coming under the provisions of this chapter shall be allowed at least thirty minutes for the noon day meal, except as in this chapter otherwise providedN.Y. Labor Law § 162
North DakotaA minimum thirty-minute meal period must be provided in each shift exceeding five hours when there are two or more employees on dutyN.D. Admin. Code § 46-02-07-02(5)
Oregonevery employer shall provide to each employee, for each work period of not less than six or more than eight hours, a meal period of not less than 30 continuous minutes during which the employee is relieved of all dutiesevery employer shall provide to each employee, for each segment of four hours or major part thereof worked in a work period, a rest period of not less than ten continuous minutes during which the employee is relieved of all duties, without deduction from the employee’s payOAR 839-020-0050
Rhode IslandAll employees are entitled to a twenty-minute (20) mealtime within a six-hour (6) work shift, and a thirty-minute (30) mealtime with an eight-hour (8) work shiftR.I. Gen. Laws § 28-3-14
TennesseeState law requires that employees must be provided a thirty (30) minute unpaid meal or rest period if scheduled six (6) consecutive hoursTenn. Code Ann. § 50-2-103 (h)
VermontAn employer shall provide an employee with reasonable opportunities during work periods to eat and to use toilet facilities in order to protect the health and hygiene of the employee21 V.S.A. § 304
WashingtonEmployees shall be allowed a meal period of at least thirty minutes which commences no less than two hours nor more than five hours from the beginning of the shiftEmployees shall be allowed a rest period of not less than ten minutes, on the employer's time, for each four hours of working timeWAC 296-126-092
West VirginiaDuring the course of a workday of six or more hours, all employers shall make available for each of their employees, at least twenty minutes for meal breaks, at times reasonably designated by the employerW. Va. Code § 21-3-10a

Where this came from

Every record above links the page it was taken from and quotes the sentence that states it. These are the 24 sources this dataset was assembled from.

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}

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21 records. last verified against source . due for re-check by .

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