Table of Meal Period Requirements Under State Law For Adult Employees
in Private Sector
Jurisdiction 2/ |
Basic Standard |
Prescribed By: |
Coverage 3/ |
California |
½ hour, after 5 hours, except when workday will be completed in 6
hours or less and there is mutual employer/employee consent to waive meal
period. On-duty meal period counted as time worked and permitted only when
nature of work prevents relief from all duties and there is written agreement
between parties. Employee may revoke agreement at any time.
The Industrial Welfare Commission may adopt working condition orders
permitting a meal period to start after 6 hours of work if the commission
determines that the order is consistent with the health and welfare of the
affected employees. |
Administratively issued Industrial Welfare Commission Orders.
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Uniform application to industries under 14 Orders, including
agriculture and private household employment.
Exempts employees in the wholesale baking industry who are subject
to an Industrial Welfare Commission Wage Order and who are covered
by a valid collective bargaining agreement that provides for a 35-hour
workweek consisting of five 7-hour days, payment of 1 and ½ times
the regular rate of pay for time worked in excess of 7 hours per
day, and a rest period of not less than 10 minutes every 2 hours. |
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½ hour, to not more than 1 hour, after 6 hours, with subsequent
meal periods required 6 hours after termination of proceeding meal period.
On-duty meal period counted as time worked and permitted only when nature of
work prevents relief from all duties and there is written agreement between
parties. |
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Applicable under motion picture industry. |
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Colorado |
½ hour after 5 hours, except when workday will be completed in 6
hours or less. On-duty meal period counted as time worked and permitted when
nature of work prevents relief from all duties. |
Administratively issued Wage Order for 7 industries |
Applicable to retail trade, food and beverage, public housekeeping,
medical profession, beauty service, laundry and dry cleaning, and janitorial
service industries. Excludes certain occupations, such as teacher, nurse, and
other medical professionals. |
|
Connecticut |
½ hour after first 2 hours and before last 2 hours for employees
who work 7½ consecutive hours or more. |
Statute |
Excludes employer who provides 30 or more total minutes of paid rest or
meal periods within each 7½ hour work period.
Meal period requirement does not alter or impair collective bargaining
agreement in effect on 7/1/90, or prevent a different schedule by written
employer/employee agreement. |
Labor Commissioner is directed to exempt by regulation any employer on
a finding that compliance would be adverse to public safety, or that duties of
a position can be performed only by one employee, or in continuous operations
under specified conditions, or that employer employs less than 5 employees on a
shift at a single place of business provided the exemption applies only to
employees on such shift. |
Delaware
|
½ hour, after first 2 hours and before the last 2 hours, for
employees who work 7½ consecutive hours or more. |
Statute |
Excludes teachers and workplaces covered by a collective bargaining
agreement or other written employer/employee agreement providing otherwise.
Exemptions may also be granted where compliance would adversely affect public
safety; only one employee may perform the duties of a position, an employer has
fewer than five employees on a shift at a single place of business; or where
the continuous nature of an employer's operations requires employees to respond
to urgent or unusual conditions at all times and the employees are compensated
for their meal break periods. |
An administrative penalty of up to $1,000 for each violation may be
assessed an employer who discharges or discriminates against an employee for
complaining or providing information to the Department of Labor pursuant to a
violation of this requirement. |
Illinois |
20 minutes, after 5 hours, for employees who are to work 7½
continuous hours or more. |
Statute |
Excludes employees whose meal periods are established by collective
bargaining. Different requirements apply to employees who monitor individuals
with developmental disabilities and/or mental illness. |
|
Kentucky |
Reasonable off-duty period, ordinarily ½ hour but shorter period
permitted under special conditions, between 3rd and 5th
hour of work. Not counted as time worked. Coffee breaks and snack time not to
be included in meal period. |
Statute and regulation |
Excludes employers subject to Federal Railway Labor Act. Meal period
requirement does not negate collective bargaining agreement or mutual agreement
between employer and employee. |
|
Maine |
½ hour, after 6 consecutive hours, except in cases of emergency
and except where nature of work allows employees frequent breaks during
workday. |
Statute |
Applicable to places of employment where 3 or more employees are on
duty at one time.
Not applicable if collective bargaining or other written
employer-employee agreement provides otherwise. |
|
Massachusetts |
½ hour, if work is for more than 6 hours. |
Statute |
Excludes iron works, glass works, paper mills, letter press
establishments, print works, and bleaching or dyeing works. |
Labor Commissioner may grant exemption to a factory workshop or
mechanical establishment, if in discretion of Commissioner, it is necessary by
reason of continuous process or special circumstance, including collective
bargaining agreement. |
Minnesota |
Sufficient unpaid time for employees who work 8 consecutive hours or
more. |
Statute |
Excludes certain agricultural and seasonal employees.
Meal period requirement does not prohibit different provisions under
collective bargaining agreement. |
|
Nebraska |
½ hour, off premises, between 12 noon and 1 p.m. or at other
suitable lunch time. |
Statute |
Applicable to assembly plant, workshop, or mechanical establishment,
unless establishment operates three 8-hour shifts daily. |
|
Nevada |
½ hour, if work is for 8 continuous hours. |
Statute |
Applicable to employers of two or more employees.
Excludes employees covered by collective bargaining agreement
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Labor Commissioner may grant exemption on employer evidence of business
necessity. |
New Hampshire |
½ hour, after 5 consecutive hours, unless feasible for employee
to eat while working and is permitted to do so by employer. |
Statute |
Applicable to any employer. |
|
New York |
1 hour noon-day period |
Statute |
Factories |
Labor Commissioner may give written permission for shorter meal period
under each standard. |
|
30 minute noonday period for employees who work shifts of more than 6
hours that extend over the noon day meal period. |
Statute |
All other establishments and occupations covered by the Labor Law.
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An additional 20 minutes between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. for those employed
on a shift starting before 11 a.m. and continuing after 7 p.m. |
Statute |
All industries and occupations. |
|
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1 hour in factories, 45 minutes in other establishments, midway in
shift, for those employed more than a 6-hour period starting between 1 p.m. and
6 a.m. |
Statue |
See basic standard |
|
North Dakota |
½ hour, if desired, on each shift exceeding 5 hours. |
Administratively issued Minimum Wage and Work Conditions Order.
|
Applicable when two or more employees are on duty. Collective
bargaining agreement takes precedence over meal period requirement. |
Employees who are completely relieved of their duties but required to
remain on site do not have to be paid. |
Oregon |
½ hour, with relief from all duty, for each work period of 6 to
8 hours, between 2nd and 5th
hour for work period of 7 hours or less and between 3rd and
6th hour for work period over 7 hours; or, less than ½ hour
but not less than 20 minutes, with pay, with relief from all duty, where
employer can show that such a paid meal period is industry practice or custom;
or, where employer can show that nature of work prevents relief from all duty,
an eating period with pay while on duty for each period of 6 to 8 hours.
|
Administratively issued Wage and Hour Commission rules. |
Applicable to every employer, except in agriculture and except
employees covered by collective bargaining agreement. |
In absence of regularly scheduled meal periods, it is sufficient
compliance when employer can show that the employee has, in fact, received the
time specified (permitted only where employer can show that ordinary nature of
the work prevents employer from establishing and maintaining a regularly
scheduled meal period). |
Rhode Island |
20 minutes, after 6 hours, except on maximum 6 ½ hour shift
ending by 1 p.m.; and except on maximum 7 ½ hour shift ending by 2 p.m.
if employee has opportunity to eat during employment. |
Statute |
Applicable to factory, workshop, and mechanical or mercantile
establishment, except for certain nighttime switchboard operators. |
|
Tennessee |
½ hour for employees scheduled to work 6 consecutive hours or
more. |
Statute |
Applicable to every employer. |
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Washington
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½ hour, if work period is more than 5 consecutive hours, to be
given not less than 2 hours nor more than 5 hours from beginning of shift.
Counted as worktime if employee is required to remain on duty on premises or at
a prescribed worksite. Additional ½ hour, before or during overtime, for
employees working 3 or more hours beyond regular workday.
|
Administrative regulation |
Excludes newspaper vendor or carrier, domestic or casual labor around
private residence, sheltered workshop, and agricultural labor. 2/
Rules for construction trade employees may be superseded by a collective
bargaining agreement covering such employees if the terms of the
agreement specifically require meal periods and prescribe requirements
concerning them. |
Director of Labor and Industries may grant variance for good cause,
upon employer application. |
West Virginia |
20 minutes for employees who work 6 consecutive hours or more.
|
Statute |
Applicable to every employer. Meal period is required where employees
are not afforded necessary breaks and/or permitted to eat lunch while working.
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|
Guam |
½ hour, after 5 hours, except when workday will be completed in
6 hours or less and there is mutual employer/employee consent to waive meal
period. Not considered time worked unless nature of work prevents relief from
duty. |
Statute |
Excludes agriculture where fewer than 10 are employed, domestic
employment, and fishing industry, among others. |
|
Puerto Rico |
1 hour, after end of 3rd
but before beginning of 6th consecutive hour worked. Double-time pay
required for work during meal hour or fraction thereof. |
Statute |
Excludes domestic service; and public sector employment other than
agricultural, industrial, commercial or public service enterprises. |
Meal period may be shortened for convenience of employee by mutual
employer-employee consent and with approval of Secretary of Labor. Such consent
and approval not necessary if union and employer agree on shorter period.
Requirement for a second meal period for employees working up to 10
hours may be waived with approval of Secretary of Labor. |
FOOTNOTES
1/The following 35 jurisdictions also have
separate provisions requiring meal periods specifically for minors (when minors
are covered by two provisions, employer must observe the higher standard):
Alabama, Alaska, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois,
Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan,
Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North
Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island,
Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Guam, and Puerto Rico.
2/ In addition to the States with Standards
of general application a 30-minute meal period is required for seasonal farm
workers after 5 hours in Pennsylvania, and for migrant workers in
Wisconsin after 6 hours. In Washington State, although
agricultural labor is excluded from the listed requirement of general
application, a separate regulation requires a 30-minute meal period after 5
hours in agriculture and an additional 30 minutes for employees working 11 or
more hours in a day. In addition to the listed States with mandatory Standards,
other provisions appear in two States: New Mexico. A provision
applicable to females and administratively extended to men does not require a
meal period, but provides that when a meal period is granted (in industrial,
mercantile and certain service industries), it must be at least ½ hour,
not counted as time worked. Wisconsin. By regulation, the
recommended standard is ½ hour after 6 consecutive hours' work in
factories, mechanical and mercantile establishments and certain service
industries, to be given reasonably close to usual meal time or near middle of
shift.
3/ Not displayed in table are
exemptions for executive, administrative and professional employees, and for
outside salespersons.
Of the 21 States or other jurisdictions with meal period requirements, 7
States also have rest periods requirements (California, Colorado, Kentucky,
Minnesota, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington).
Division of External Affairs Wage and Hour Division Employment
Standards Administration U.S. Department of Labor
January 1, 2004
This document was last revised in November 2003; unless otherwise stated,
the information reflects requirements that were in effect, or would take
effect, as of January 1, 2004.
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