Washington
What is the meal break rule for Washington?
For Washington, meal break rule is Employees 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 shift; rest break rule is Employees shall be allowed a rest period of not less than ten minutes, on the employer's time, for each four hours of working time; statute or regulation is WAC 296-126-092, recorded from its source on 2026-09-02.
Employees 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 shift. Meal periods shall be on the employer's time when the employee is required by the employer to remain on duty on the premises or at a prescribed work site in the interest of the employer.
— app.leg.wa.gov, retrieved 2026-09-02
- State
- Washington our reading
- Meal break rule
- Employees 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 shift verified
- Rest break rule
- Employees shall be allowed a rest period of not less than ten minutes, on the employer's time, for each four hours of working time verified
- Statute or regulation
- WAC 296-126-092 our reading
Values marked our reading are our classification of what the source says — the source does not print them in those words. The quote below is the evidence for each one; judge it yourself.
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
Employees 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 shift. Meal periods shall be on the employer's time when the employee is required by the employer to remain on duty on the premises or at a prescribed work site in the interest of the employer.
Rest break rule
Employees shall be allowed a rest period of not less than ten minutes, on the employer's time, for each four hours of working time. Rest periods shall be scheduled as near as possible to the midpoint of the work period. No employee shall be required to work more than three hours without a rest period.
Statute or regulation
WAC 296-126-092 Meal periods—Rest periods.
— all from app.leg.wa.gov, retrieved 2026-09-02
Source
- app.leg.wa.govhttps://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=296-126-092