Short breaks are paid; real lunch breaks usually are not. Federal law does not require an employer to give lunch or coffee breaks, but when it gives short breaks of about 5 to 20 minutes, they are paid work time. A meal period of 30 minutes or more need not be paid, but only if you are completely relieved of duty. Many states add their own rules, listed below (U.S. Department of Labor, Breaks and Meal Periods).
The federal rule
The Department of Labor's summary is that federal law does not require lunch or coffee breaks (U.S. Department of Labor, Breaks and Meal Periods). If an employer does offer breaks, federal rules say how they are treated:
- Rest breaks of about 5 to 20 minutes are paid. Rest periods of short duration, running from 5 minutes to about 20 minutes, are customarily paid for as working time and must be counted as hours worked (29 CFR 785.18). That means they count toward the 40-hour overtime threshold.
- Bona fide meal periods are not work time. But the employee "must be completely relieved from duty for the purposes of eating regular meals." Ordinarily 30 minutes or more is long enough, and a shorter period may be long enough under special conditions (29 CFR 785.19). Coffee breaks and time for snacks are rest periods, not meal periods.
- One exception on extensions. Unauthorized extensions of authorized breaks need not be counted as hours worked when the employer has expressly and unambiguously told the employee the break may only last a set time, that any extension is against the rules, and that it will be punished (DOL Fact Sheet #22, Hours Worked Under the FLSA).
When a "lunch break" must be paid
A meal period is work time when you are not fully relieved of duty. The regulation says the employee is not relieved if required to perform any duties, whether active or inactive, while eating, and gives two examples: an office employee required to eat at their desk and a factory worker required to be at their machine are working while eating (29 CFR 785.19). The fact sheet's example is an employee who stays at their desk during lunch and regularly answers the telephone: that time must be counted and paid (DOL Fact Sheet #22, Hours Worked Under the FLSA). The regulation adds that an employee does not have to be allowed to leave the premises, so long as they are otherwise completely freed from duties.
If your "unpaid lunch" is regularly interrupted or spent on duty, record that time as hours worked. On the time card calculator, enter only breaks that were really unpaid.
Example. You work 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. with a 30-minute unpaid lunch and two paid 10-minute breaks. The shift is 8 hours 30 minutes; taking out the lunch leaves 8 hours paid. The two paid breaks stay in your hours. See how to calculate hours worked for the method.
Meal break laws by state
Many states go further than federal law. The table below summarizes the Department of Labor's table of meal period requirements for adult private-sector employees, which was last revised January 1, 2023. It lists 21 states (it also covers Guam and Puerto Rico, which we left out). Many rules have exceptions for certain industries, small workplaces or union contracts, and some cover only particular kinds of business, which we note where the table does. The table also says 35 jurisdictions have separate meal period rules for minors.
| State | Meal period rule (adults) |
|---|---|
| California | 30 minutes when the work period is more than 5 hours (it may be waived by mutual consent if the workday will be done in 6 hours or less). A second 30 minutes when the work period is more than 10 hours (waivable by mutual consent only if the day is 12 hours or less and the first was not waived). An on-duty meal counts as time worked and needs a written agreement. |
| Colorado | 30 minutes when the shift is more than 5 consecutive hours. An on-duty meal counts as time worked and is allowed when the work prevents relief from all duties. Covers: Retail and service, food and beverage, commercial support service, and health and medical industries. |
| Connecticut | 30 minutes after the first 2 hours and before the last 2 hours, for employees who work 7½ consecutive hours or more. |
| Delaware | 30 minutes after the first 2 hours and before the last 2 hours, for employees who work 7½ consecutive hours or more. |
| Illinois | At least 20 minutes, no later than 5 hours after the start of the work period, for employees who work 7½ continuous hours or more. Hotel room attendants have their own rules. |
| Kentucky | A reasonable off-duty period, ordinarily 30 minutes, between the 3rd and 5th hour of work. It is not counted as time worked. |
| Maine | 30 minutes after 6 consecutive hours, except in an emergency. |
| Maryland | 15 minutes for 4 to 6 consecutive hours, or 30 minutes for more than 6. At 8 or more consecutive hours, 30 minutes plus another 15 for every additional 4 consecutive hours. Covers: Retail employers with 50 or more retail employees (as the table defines them). |
| Massachusetts | At least 30 minutes for each 6 hours worked in a calendar day, with the worker free of all duties and free to leave the workplace. |
| Minnesota | Sufficient unpaid time for employees who work 8 consecutive hours or more. Rest periods of less than 20 minutes may not be deducted from hours worked. |
| Nebraska | 30 minutes, off the premises, for lunch in each 8-hour shift. Covers: Assembly plants, workshops and mechanical establishments. |
| Nevada | 30 minutes when the work is 8 continuous hours. Covers: Employers of two or more employees. |
| New Hampshire | 30 minutes after 5 consecutive hours, unless it is feasible for the employee to eat while working and the employer permits it. |
| New York | Factories: 1 hour at noon. Other establishments: 30 minutes at noon for shifts of more than 6 hours that run over the noon meal. Longer or extra periods apply to some evening and overnight shifts. |
| North Dakota | 30 minutes, if desired, on each shift of more than 5 hours. A worker who is completely relieved of duty does not have to be paid. Covers: When two or more employees are on duty. |
| Oregon | 30 minutes with relief from all duty for each work period of 6 to 8 hours. A paid on-duty meal is allowed where the nature of the work prevents relief. |
| Rhode Island | 20 minutes within a 6-hour shift, and 30 minutes within an 8-hour shift. Covers: Not licensed health care facilities or worksites with fewer than three people on a shift. |
| Tennessee | 30 minutes for employees scheduled to work 6 consecutive hours or more, not during or before the first hour of work. |
| Vermont | Employees are to be given "reasonable opportunities" during work periods to eat and use toilet facilities. |
| Washington | 30 minutes when the work period is more than 5 consecutive hours, given between 2 and 5 hours after the shift begins. It counts as work time if the employee must stay on duty. Another 30 minutes before or during overtime for employees working 3 or more hours past the regular workday. |
| West Virginia | 20 minutes for employees who work 6 hours or more in a workday. |
A state that does not appear in that table had no general meal period rule listed there. Check your state labor department before you rely on a row: the summaries are shortened, and the law may have changed since January 1, 2023.
Paid rest break laws by state
Paid rest periods are less common. The Department of Labor's table of paid rest period requirements (last revised January 1, 2023) lists these:
| State | Paid rest period rule (adults) |
|---|---|
| California | Paid 10-minute rest period for each 4 hours worked or major fraction of 4 hours, in the middle of each work period as practicable. Not required when total daily work time is less than 3½ hours. |
| Colorado | Paid 10-minute rest period for each 4 hours of work or major fraction, in the middle of the work period as practicable. |
| Kentucky | Paid 10-minute rest period during each 4-hour work period, in addition to the regular meal period. |
| Minnesota | Paid adequate rest period within each 4 consecutive hours of work, to use the nearest convenient restroom. |
| Nevada | Paid 10-minute rest period for each 4 hours worked or major fraction, in the middle of each work period as practicable. Not required when total daily work time is less than 3½ hours. Covers: Employers of two or more employees; not employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement. |
| Oregon | Paid 10-minute rest period for every 4 hours worked or major portion, taken separately from the meal period. Covers: Not employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement. |
| Washington | Paid 10-minute rest period for each 4-hour work period, near the middle of the period. An employee may not be required to work more than 3 hours without a rest period. |
| Illinois | Two paid 15-minute rest periods in each workday of at least 7 hours. Covers: Hotel room attendants, in counties with more than three million people. |
| Vermont | "Reasonable opportunities" to eat and use toilet facilities during work periods. |
Every one of the seven states in the first part of that table (California, Colorado, Kentucky, Minnesota, Nevada, Oregon and Washington) also has a meal period rule above. The Department's tables note that exemptions for executive, administrative and professional employees and for outside salespersons are not shown in them. The table says states not listed do not require paid rest periods.
Breaks to pump breast milk
Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, most nursing employees have the right to reasonable break time and a place, other than a bathroom, that is shielded from view to express breast milk at work, for up to one year after the child's birth. Time spent pumping must be one of two things: the employee is completely relieved from duty, or the break is paid. If the employer provides paid breaks and the employee uses one to pump, they are compensated the same way as other employees for that break. Employers with fewer than 50 employees are not subject to the requirement if compliance would impose an undue hardship, and state or local law may give more protection (DOL Fact Sheet #73, Protections for Employees to Pump Breast Milk at Work).
Sources and limits
The federal rules come from U.S. Department of Labor, Breaks and Meal Periods, DOL Fact Sheet #22, Hours Worked Under the FLSA, DOL Fact Sheet #73, Protections for Employees to Pump Breast Milk at Work, 29 CFR 785.18 and 29 CFR 785.19. The state tables are summaries of U.S. Department of Labor, state meal period requirements and U.S. Department of Labor, state paid rest period requirements, both last revised January 1, 2023; we read everything on September 26, 2026. The Department of Labor's site does not allow automated readers, so we read its pages through copies from the Internet Archive taken in 2026; the regulations came from the government's eCFR site. The Department says on those pages to consult the relevant state labor office for official information, and we have not checked any state's law against the current statutes. Employers and union contracts can offer more than the law requires. This is general information, not legal or payroll advice.