# Tennessee — Meal and rest break requirements by US state — hours worked before a break is owed, its length, and whether it's paid, quoted from the state's own labor law

For Tennessee, meal break rule is State law requires that employees must be provided a thirty (30) minute unpaid meal or rest period if scheduled six (6) consecutive hours; statute or regulation is Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-2-103 (h), recorded from its source on 2026-09-02.

- **State:** Tennessee _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_
- **Meal break rule:** State law requires that employees must be provided a thirty (30) minute unpaid meal or rest period if scheduled six (6) consecutive hours _(verified: appears in its own passage below)_
- **Statute or regulation:** Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-2-103 (h) _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_

## What the source says

> State law requires that employees must be provided a thirty (30) minute unpaid meal or rest period if scheduled six (6) consecutive hours, except in workplace environments that by their nature of business provides for ample opportunity to rest or take an appropriate break.

## Where each value comes from

This source states these in separate places, so each value is shown with the passage that states it.

### Meal break rule

> State law requires that employees must be provided a thirty (30) minute unpaid meal or rest period if scheduled six (6) consecutive hours, except in workplace environments that by their nature of business provides for ample opportunity to rest or take an appropriate break.

### Statute or regulation

> There are no state requirements for additional breaks. Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-2-103 (h)

## Source

- https://www.tn.gov/workforce/employees/labor-laws/labor-laws-redirect/wages-breaks.html

Last verified: 2026-09-02. Review by: 2027-09-02.
Part of [Meal and rest break requirements by US state — hours worked before a break is owed, its length, and whether it's paid, quoted from the state's own labor law](https://referencesource.org/meal-and-rest-break-requirements-by-state/).