Give me a break! Meal and rest break requirements governed by state law

Q           Are there any exceptions to meal and rest break requirements? Can we allow employees to waive their meal breaks if they work six hours instead of eight?

Federal law doesn’t require employers to provide employees with meal and rest breaks. Requirements for such breaks are often addressed under state law. As a result, break requirements vary from state to state and often depend on employee age, number of hours worked, and the nature of the work environment.

If an employer does offer breaks, however, the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) considers short breaks (usually five to 20 minutes) to be compensable work hours for calculating the sum of hours worked during the workweek and determining overtime. Meal period breaks (usually at least 30 minutes) serve a different purpose than shorter breaks. If employers offer such breaks, they aren’t compensable under federal law as long as an employee is relieved of all work duties during the break.

Because federal law doesn’t mandate meal or rest breaks, there are no federal penalties for not providing breaks. Additionally, federal law doesn’t address waiving meal breaks. State law requirements regarding rest or meal breaks will prevail over the FLSA’s silence on the topic. If an employee is subject to both the FLSA and state labor laws, they are entitled to the most beneficial provisions of each law.