Compliance violations cost franchises and multi-location businesses tens of thousands in penalties annually, and many of those violations stem from a single operational blind spot: meal and break period requirements. A California restaurant pays an extra hour of premium wages for every meal break missed. An Oregon healthcare facility faces a $100 million lawsuit for persistent break violations. A Colorado employer gets hit with compliance orders and back wages for denying rest periods.
The complexity? Requirements change completely when you cross state lines. What's legal in Texas (no mandated breaks) violates Washington law (10-minute paid rest breaks every 4 hours). Managers running multi-state operations can't rely on a single policy, and even within states that mandate breaks, the specifics vary wildly on timing, pay status, exemptions, and documentation requirements.
Why this matters more than ever
Labor enforcement has intensified. The Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries now has authority to assess civil penalties of up to $1,000 for each violation of meal and rest period provisions. Washington State can impose civil penalties up to $5,000 for every violation, with higher fines for repeat offenders. Illinois penalties reach $500 per offense for employers with 25+ employees, and each day without a required meal break constitutes a separate offense per employee.
Beyond fines, there's the operational impact. In April 2022, an Oregon healthcare facility filed a lawsuit attempting to overturn state meal and rest break rules to avoid nearly $100 million in fines for violations dating back to 2015. That could be an existential threat to the business.
The challenge intensifies for franchises. Fair Workweek laws in Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, and Oregon add predictive scheduling requirements on top of break laws. Automated break deductions may be common, but they become wage theft if breaks aren't actually taken. Manual tracking in Excel spreadsheets creates compliance gaps that surface during audits or employee lawsuits.
Federal baseline: What the FLSA does (and doesn't) require
No federal law requires companies to offer breaks during work hours for meals or any other purpose. However, federal law says that if a company chooses to allow break periods, any break under 20 minutes should be paid, and any over 30 minutes can be unpaid and classified as "off-the-clock".
That's the entire federal standard: breaks under 20 minutes must be paid if offered; breaks over 30 minutes can be unpaid if the employee is completely relieved of duty. When safety is an issue and a break is necessary, OSHA regulations may apply. OSHA requires employers to provide access to clean bathrooms when employees need to use the restroom.
For the majority of states, these federal standards are the only requirements. But a growing number of states have enacted their own meal and rest break laws, creating a patchwork of compliance obligations that vary dramatically by jurisdiction.
Understanding the state-by-state table
The table below provides comprehensive state-by-state meal and break requirements with direct links to official state labor department resources. Use the search function to quickly find specific states or filter by whether requirements exist.
Key definitions:
- Meal breaks: Longer periods (typically 30 minutes) for eating, usually unpaid if the employee is completely relieved of duties
- Rest breaks: Shorter periods (typically 10-15 minutes) for rest, almost always paid
- "No state law": The state defers to federal FLSA standards (breaks under 20 minutes must be paid if provided, but breaks aren't required)
| State | Meal Break Requirement | Rest Break Requirement | Penalties for Violations | Key Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | No state law | No state law | N/A | Federal standards apply; minors under 16 have special requirements |
| Alaska | No state law | No state law | N/A | Federal standards apply; minors under 18 have special requirements |
| Arizona | No state law | No state law | N/A | Federal standards apply |
| Arkansas | No state law | No state law | N/A | Federal standards apply |
| California | 30 minutes for 5+ hours; additional 30 minutes for 12+ hours | Paid 10 minutes per 4 hours worked | 1 hour premium pay per violation per day (max 2 hours/day for both meal + rest) | Must be uninterrupted; 3-year statute of limitations |
| Colorado | 30 minutes for 5+ hours | Paid 10 minutes per 4 hours worked | Back pay for missed breaks + fines; child labor violations: $750-$10,000 | Rest breaks must be near midpoint; compliance orders + potential lawsuits |
| Connecticut | 30 minutes for 7.5+ hours | No state law | Varies by violation | Meal break after first 2 hours and before last 2 hours of shift |
| Delaware | 30 minutes for 7.5+ hours | No state law | Varies by violation | After first 2 hours and before last 2 hours; minors have additional requirements |
| Florida | No state law | No state law | N/A | Federal standards apply; minors under 18 have special requirements |
| Georgia | No state law | No state law | N/A | Federal standards apply |
| Hawaii | No general law | No general law | N/A (except minors) | Minors 14-15 require 30-minute break after 5 hours |
| Idaho | No state law | No state law | N/A | Federal standards apply |
| Illinois | 20 minutes for 7.5+ hours; additional 20 minutes for 12+ hours | Reasonable restroom breaks | $250 per offense (<25 employees) or $500 (25+ employees) to employee + same to Dept | Each day without break = separate offense; employee + Dept both receive penalties |
| Indiana | No state law | No state law | N/A | Federal standards apply; minors under 18 have special requirements |
| Iowa | No general law | No general law | N/A (except minors) | Minors under 16 require 30-minute break for 5+ hours |
| Kansas | No state law | No state law | N/A | Federal standards apply |
| Kentucky | Reasonable period for 3-5 hour shifts | Paid 10 minutes per 4 hours for some employees | Varies by violation | Requirements apply to specific industries |
| Louisiana | No state law | No state law | N/A | Federal standards apply; minors under 18 have special requirements |
| Maine | No meal break | 30 minutes for 6+ hours | Varies by violation | Rest period requirement functions as meal break after 6 hours |
| Maryland | 30 minutes for minors under 18 working 5+ hours | 15 minutes for 4-6 hour shifts; 30 minutes for 6-8 hour shifts (retail only) | Varies by violation | Requirements vary by industry and age |
| Massachusetts | 30 minutes for 6+ hours | No state law | Varies by violation | Meal break required for most employees |
| Michigan | No general law | No general law | N/A (except minors) | Minors have specific requirements |
| Minnesota | Reasonable time to eat for 8+ hours (paid if under 20 min) | Paid break for each 4 hours (starting Jan 2026) | Back pay for missed breaks + equal amount as liquidated damages | New requirements effective January 1, 2026 |
| Mississippi | No state law | No state law | N/A | Federal standards apply |
| Missouri | No state law | No state law | N/A | Federal standards apply |
| Montana | No state law | No state law | N/A | Federal standards apply |
| Nebraska | 30 minutes for 8+ hour shifts (specific industries) | No general law | Varies by violation | Applies to assembly plants, workshops, mechanical establishments |
| Nevada | 30 minutes for 8+ hours | Paid 10 minutes per 4 hours | 1 hour premium pay per violation; up to $5,000 civil penalty per violation | Misdemeanor: up to 6 months imprisonment + $1,000 fine for denying breaks |
New HampshireWhat this means for your operationsStates with no requirements (Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Wyoming) follow federal law: breaks under 20 minutes must be paid if provided, but employers aren't required to offer any breaks. Employees in these states still have strong expectations around break times, and smart employers provide them anyway to maintain morale and productivity. States with meal-only requirements (Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Rhode Island, Tennessee, West Virginia, Wisconsin) mandate meal periods for longer shifts but don't require rest breaks. These meal breaks are typically 20-30 minutes and must be uninterrupted and duty-free to remain unpaid. States with both meal and rest requirements (California, Colorado, Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, Minnesota, Nevada, Oregon, Washington) have the most complex compliance obligations. Rest breaks are always paid, meal breaks are unpaid only if completely duty-free, and penalties for violations can be substantial. What about local ordinances?Not many local areas place additional requirements on employers for breaks, but you should check with your city and county to confirm. Two areas that do are Cook County, Illinois and Austin, Texas. Texas has no state-level meal or rest break requirements for adult employees. Austin's ordinance creates the first break mandate for construction workers in the state. After three construction workers died in a scaffolding collapse in June 2009, the Austin City Council passed this rule. It was meant to address both heat stress and workplace safety concerns, and was the first such ordinance requiring rest breaks for construction workers in the United States. Common compliance failuresAutomatic deductions without verification: Many businesses automatically deduct 30 minutes for meal breaks from all shifts over a certain length. If employees work through those breaks or get interrupted, the deduction becomes wage theft. In California, employers must pay employees for one extra hour at their regular hourly rate for each violation on each workday. "Clopening" violations: Scheduling employees to close one night and open the next morning creates problems in Fair Workweek jurisdictions, but also leads to break compliance failures when employees don't get adequate rest periods during their opening shift due to fatigue. Minor employee oversights: Almost every state has stricter requirements for employees under 18, even states with no general break requirements. A 15-year-old in Iowa needs a 30-minute break after 5 hours of work, even though adult employees have no break requirements. Industry-specific exemptions missed: Some states have special rules for specific industries. Illinois hotel room attendants in Cook County get 30-minute meal breaks and paid rest breaks. Oregon has exceptions for certain agricultural workers. Missing these nuances creates compliance gaps. How to stay compliant across multiple locations
The bottom lineBreak compliance isn't optional in the 20+ states with meal and rest break laws, and penalties for violations run into hundreds of thousands of dollars for repeat offenders. The operational approach that works: know your state requirements, implement technology that tracks compliance automatically, train managers on local laws, document everything, and address violations immediately when they surface. For multi-state operators, the complexity multiplies. What's compliant in one location violates law in another. The only sustainable approach is systems that apply location-specific rules automatically, combined with regular compliance audits and manager training. The alternative from penalties and lawsuits to back wages, costs far more. How does Breakroom compare with other alternatives?Fast to set up. Easy to use.Get your team up and running with Breakroom in 60 seconds. Or schedule a free, personalized demo today.  Join over 150,000 users using Breakroom dailyFrom hospitals to fast food chains, Breakroom unifies team communications and streamlines scheduling Book a Demo |
