19 May Federal Meal and Rest Period Requirements
The federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) does not require employers to provide meal or a rest period to employees. However, when employers do offer short breaks (usually lasting about 5 to 20 minutes), the FLSA considers the breaks compensable work hours and included in the sum of hours worked during the workweek and considered in determining if overtime was worked. Unauthorized extensions of authorized work breaks need not be counted as hours worked when the employer has expressly and unambiguously communicated to the employee that the authorized break may only last for a specific length of time, that any extension of the break is contrary to the employer’s rules, and any extension of the break will be punished.
Bona fide meal periods (typically lasting at least 30 minutes), serve a different purpose than coffee or snack breaks, so are not work time and are not compensable.
Federal rules regarding meal and break periods are located at 29 C.F.R. §§ 785.18 and 785.19.
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