Federal law barely addresses breaks
There is a common belief that everyone is entitled to a lunch break by law. Federally, that is not true. The FLSA does not require employers to provide meal or rest breaks at all. It only regulates how breaks are paid when they are given:
- Short rest breaks (commonly 20 minutes or less) are counted as work time and must be paid.
- A genuine meal period of 30 minutes or more can be unpaid — but only if you are completely relieved of duty. Eating at your desk while still answering calls is working time and must be paid.
Whether a break must be offered in the first place is left entirely to the states.
The states that require breaks
A number of states fill the gap with real mandates. California, Oregon, Washington, and Colorado are among the states that require meal periods and, in most cases, paid rest periods for adult employees. The details differ: the hours-worked threshold that triggers a meal break, its length, whether a second meal break kicks in on a long shift, and whether rest breaks are paid all vary by state.
- California breaks — a 30-minute meal period before the end of the fifth hour, a paid 10-minute rest per four hours, and premium pay for missed breaks.
- Oregon and Washington — meal and rest requirements tied to shift length.
- Alaska and Hawaii — narrower adult rules, with distinct protections for minors.
Minors are treated differently everywhere
Even states with few adult break requirements often have strict rules for workers under 18 — for example, a mandatory 30-minute break after five consecutive hours. If a teenager's schedule is the question, the minor rules usually control and are stricter than the adult ones.
Premium pay for missed breaks
The remedy for a denied break is where states diverge most. California's one-hour premium for a missed meal or rest break is the strongest and best-known; a worker regularly denied breaks can accumulate a substantial claim. Other mandate-break states rely on different enforcement and may not offer a per-break premium at all. Because the remedy is so state-specific, check your state's page rather than assuming the California rule applies everywhere.