Lunch Break Laws By State
Lunch Breaks Aren’t a Requirement for Employers
Most employers provide their employees with a paid or unpaid lunch break and some provide additional rest break periods. But did you know that breaks aren’t required by law? Federal law, anyway. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the law that governs wages and hours, does not mandate that employers provide meal or rest breaks to employees. Like many other federal laws in the human resources space, some states have stepped in to bridge the gap.
Here's What You Need to Know
The federal law dictates that if an employee gets meal or rest breaks, the company does not have to pay them for that time unless:
- State law requires paid breaks
- The employee works through a break time (e.g., if they eat while working)
- The break lasts 20 minutes or less
Does Your State Require Lunch Breaks?
Some states’ laws apply only to employees who are minors, which we indicate in the table below. Check states’ laws for additional provisions and exemptions. All hours worked must be consecutive.
| State | Covered Employees | Duration |
| Alabama | 14- and 15-year-old employees who work more than 5 hours | At least 30 minutes |
| Alaska | Employees under 18 scheduled to work for 6 or more hours Under 18 scheduled to work for 5 consecutive hours without a break |
At least 30 minutes At least 30 minutes |
| Arizona | N/A | N/A |
| Arkansas | Employees in the entertainment industry who work for at least 5 ½ hours They also must have at least a 12-hour break between work day | 30 to 60 minutes |
| California | All employees who work more than 5 hours a day Employees who work for 3 ½ hours or more get one paid rest break for every 4-hour period worked |
At least 10 minutes |
| Colorado | Employees covered by Colorado’s Minimum Wage Order who work 5+ hours Paid rest break for every 4 hours worked |
At least 30 minutes At least 10 minutes |
| Connecticut | Employees who work at least 7½ hours | At least 30 minutes |
| District of Columbia | N/A | N/A |
| Delaware | Employees who work at least 7 ½ hours Employees under 18 scheduled to work 5 hours |
At least 30 minutes At least 30 minutes |
| Florida | Employees under 18 who work at least 4 hours | At least 30 minutes |
| Georgia | N/A | N/A |
| Hawaii | 14- and 15-year-old employees who work 5+ hours | At least 30 minutes |
| Idaho | N/A | N/A |
| Illinois | Employees who work 7 ½ hours or longer Employees under 16 who work 5+ hours |
At least 20 minutes At least 30 minutes |
| Indiana | Employees under 18 who work 6+ hours | 1-2 breaks totaling 30 minutes |
| Iowa | Employees under 16 who work 5+ hours | At least 30 minutes |
| Kansas | If the meal break is under 30 minutes, the employer must pay the employee | At least 30 minutes if unpaid |
| Kentucky | Employees who work 4+ hours Employees who work 5+ hours |
Rest break of at least 10 minutes for every 4 hours worked Meal break of at least 30 minutes |
| Louisiana | Employees under 18 who work 5 hours | At least 30 minutes unpaid |
| Maine | Employees who work 6+ hours | At least 30 minutes |
| Maryland | Certain retail employees | 15 minutes for a shift of 4-6 hours 30 minutes for a shift of more 6+ hours 30 minutes for 8+ with an additional 15 minutes for every additional 4 working hours |
| Massachusetts | Employees who work 6+ hours | At least 30 minutes | Michigan | Employees who work 5+ hours | At least 30 minutes |
| Minnesota | Employees who work 4+ hours Employees who work 8+ hours |
Must be enough time to use the nearest restroom At least 30 minutes unpaid |
| Mississippi | N/A | N/A |
| Missouri | Coal miners Employees in the entertainment industry |
At least 1 hour 15-minute rest breaks for every 2 hours of work 30-60 minute lunch periods after 5 ½ hours of work |
| Montana | N/A | N/A |
| Nebraska | Employees of an assembling plant, workshop or mechanical establishment | At least 30 minutes per 8-hour shift |
| Nevada | Employees working 8+ hours Employees who work 3 ½+ hours |
At least 30 minutes At least a 10-minute rest break |
| New Hampshire | Employees who work 5+ hours | At least 30 minutes |
| New Jersey | Employees under 18 who work 5+ hours | At least 30 minutes |
| New Mexico | Employees are not entitled to meal or rest breaks. If employers permit, rest breaks under 20 minutes must be paid. Meal breaks of 30+ minutes can be unpaid. | >20 minutes – rest breaks 30+ minutes – meal breaks |
| New York | Factory workers get 2 meal breaks for shifts of 6+ hours that start between 1:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. Non-factory workers get a lunch break for shifts 6+ hours that extend over the same time period. All workers get an extra break for workdays that extend from before 11:00 a.m. until after 7:00 p.m. Employees under 16 who work for 5+ hours |
At least 60 minutes At least 30 minutes At least 20 minutes At least 30 minutes |
| North Carolina | Employees who work shifts of 5+ hours when there are 2 or more employees on duty | At least 30 minutes |
| North Dakota | Employees who work 5+ hours | At least 30 minutes |
| Ohio | Employees under 18 who work for 5+ hours | 30 cumulative minutes for employees who work 5-8 hours 60 cumulative minutes for employees who work 8+ hours. |
| Oklahoma | N/A | N/A |
| Oregon | Employees who work 2+ hours get 1 paid rest break and an extra rest break for every 4 additional hours worked Employees who have worked for 5 hours |
At least 10 minutes for each rest break for adults At least 15 minutes for each rest break for employees under 18 At least 30 minutes |
| Pennsylvania | Only farm workers who have worked 5+ hours | At least 30 minutes |
| Rhode Island | Employees who work 6+ hours | 20 minutes for employees who work 6 hours 30 minutes for employees who work 8 hours |
| South Carolina | N/A | N/A |
| South Dakota | N/A | N/A |
| Tennessee | Employees who work 6+ hours | At least 30 minutes |
| Texas | N/A | N/A |
| Utah | Employees under 18 who work for 5+ hours | At least 30 minutes At least 10 minutes for each rest break. |
| Vermont | State employees who work 4+ hours | At least 30 minutes unpaid lunch and a 15 minute rest break for every 4 hours worked |
| Virginia | Employees who work 5+ hours | At least 30 minutes |
| Washington | Employees ages 14 and 15 for every 2 hours worked. Employees ages 16 and 17 who work 5+ hours Employees ages 16 and 17 get a rest break for every 4 hours worked Employees are entitled to a meal break Employees working 3+ longer than a normal work day get an additional meal break Employees who work 4+ hours get a paid rest break. Employees who are not “afforded necessary breaks and/or permitted to eat lunch while working” and who work 6+ hours are entitled to an unpaid meal break |
At least 10 minutes At least 30 minutes At least 10 minutes At least 30 minutes At least 30 minutes At least 10 minutes for every 4 hours worked At least 20 minutes |
| West Virginia | Employees who work 6+ hours get a meal break | At least 20 minutes |
| Wisconsin | Adult employees are not entitled to meal breaks, but the Wisconsin Administrative Code recommends that employers provide such breaks. | At least 30 minutes. |
| Wyoming | N/A | N/A |
Buyer's Guide To HCM And Payroll Technology
An HCM platform is the foundation of your business, and choosing the technology is one of the most important decisions you'll make.
Get ExpertiseMore to Discover
Payroll Errors: 12 Common Mistakes You Might Be Making
Payroll Matters The payroll process is a necessary component of any business and The Department of Labor (DOL) keeps a close eye on businesses to help ensure they pay their employees correctly, and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and state taxing authorities are always going to make sure they receive the appropriate tax payments. 12 Common Errors to Avoid Everyone makes mistakes, and we’re hopeful they’re caught before anything bad happens. But it’s imperative to make sure that you’re not making any of these relatively common payroll mistakes if you manually calculate payroll in-house. Misclassifying employees and contractors In the gig economy, temps, freelancers, consultants and other independent contractors are commonly found in...
Dayrise Residential Outgrows Their PEO
Dayrise Residential had a great problem. Founded in 2011, this multifamily housing and operations company now manages nearly 80 properties in eight states and employs, at any given time, close to 500 people. As the Dayrise business grew, they found that their HR and Payroll needs were outgrowing their PEO. Dayrise needed to streamline their recruiting process to keep pace with the demands of filling new positions. And once the recruiting problem was solved, they needed help onboarding and training employees. They also needed access to their data and analytics—and their rigid PEO partner just couldn’t make it happen. So Dayrise met with Paycor. What impressed them right away was that Paycor is not in the business of flashy demos and “...HR
Age Discrimination in the Workplace
Take a Quick Scan of Your Job Descriptions Do they ask for “a recent graduate,” a person “with 1-3 years of experience,” a “digital native” or worst of all, someone who would be a great fit for your “young and cool” team? Do you have an age requirement for certain jobs (excluding businesses that sell alcohol and require the person to be at least 21 years old, of course)? If so, your company could be headed to the courtroom to defend itself against an age discrimination lawsuit. Workers Ages 40+ Aren’t the Only Protected Class In 1967, President Lyndon Johnson passed the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), which is designed to protect job candidates and employees 40 and up from age discrimination in the workplace. While it doesn’...