Restaurant Guide to Employee Breaks and Meal Periods

A server works a double, grabs a quick bite standing in the kitchen, and clocks out. Did they get a legal meal break? Depends on your state—and whether they were truly off duty while eating.

Break laws trip up restaurant operators more than almost any other compliance issue. Federal law doesn’t even require breaks, but many states do, and the rules on paid vs. unpaid time catch people off guard. This guide covers federal and state requirements, what happens when you get it wrong, and how to build breaks into your operations without disrupting service.

Federal law on employee breaks

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) doesn’t require employers to provide meal or rest breaks at all. That surprises a lot of restaurant operators. However, if you do offer breaks, federal law has specific rules about whether you pay for them.

Here’s the federal baseline:

• Short rest breaks (5-20 minutes): Count as hours worked and are paid time
• Meal periods (30+ minutes): Can be unpaid, but only if the employee is completely relieved of all duties
• State laws add more: Many states require breaks that federal law doesn’t mandate

When breaks are paid under federal law

The distinction between paid and unpaid breaks comes down to one thing: is the employee truly free from work?

Short rest breaks benefit the employer by keeping staff alert and productive. That’s why federal law treats them as working time. You pay for them.

Meal breaks are different. If an employee gets 30 minutes or more and can do whatever they want, leave the building, scroll their phone, eat in peace, that time can be unpaid. But the moment work intrudes, even briefly, the entire break becomes paid time.

Break Type	Duration	Paid?	Key Requirement
Rest break	5-20 minutes	Yes	Counts as hours worked
Meal break	30+ minutes	Can be unpaid	Employee fully relieved of duties
Interrupted meal break	Any	Yes	Any work = compensable

 

State lunch break laws for restaurants

Break requirements vary dramatically from state to state, and some cities have their own rules on top of that. The table below gives you a starting point, but laws change. Always verify current requirements with your state department of labor before finalizing policies.

State	Meal Break Required?	Rest Break Required?
California	Yes	Yes
New York	Yes	No
Texas	No	No
Florida	No	No
Illinois	Yes	No
Colorado	Yes	Yes
Oregon	Yes	Yes
Washington	Yes	Yes
Pennsylvania	No	No
Georgia	No	No

Important: Requirements vary by location and change over time. Check your state department of labor website for current, specific rules.

California

California has some of the strictest break laws in the country. Non-exempt employees must receive a 30-minute unpaid meal break for shifts over five hours (starting before the end of hour five), a second 30-minute meal break for shifts over 10 hours, and a paid 10-minute rest break for every four hours worked. Employers who fail to provide any required break owe one additional hour of pay per violation per day — making compliance both a legal and financial priority.

New York

New York’s break rules depend on when an employee’s shift falls. Employees working more than six hours during a shift covering the 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. window get a 30-minute meal break; shifts starting between 1 p.m. and 6 a.m. require a 45-minute break at the midpoint; and shifts spanning before 11 a.m. to after 7 p.m. require an additional 20-minute break between 5 and 7 p.m. No rest breaks are required.

Restaurant operators should also be aware of the Hospitality Wage Order’s “spread of hours” rule: any day an employee’s shift spans more than 10 hours from start to finish, they’re owed one additional hour of pay at the basic minimum wage rate.

Texas

Texas has no state-mandated meal or rest breaks for adult employees and follows federal law only. If you offer breaks, federal rules apply — short breaks of 20 minutes or less must be paid, and meal breaks of 30 minutes or more can be unpaid only if the employee is fully relieved of duties. Federal lactation break requirements under the PUMP Act also apply.

Florida

Florida does not require meal or rest breaks for adult employees. Minors under 18 are entitled to a 30-minute uninterrupted meal break under Florida Statutes § 450.081 when working shifts of more than four hours.

Illinois

Illinois requires a 20-minute unpaid meal break for employees working 7.5 or more continuous hours, beginning no later than five hours into the shift. As of January 2023, an additional 20-minute break is required for every additional 4.5 continuous hours worked — so a 12-hour shift requires two breaks, not one. Illinois does not require paid rest breaks for most employees.

Colorado

Colorado requires both meal and rest breaks for non-exempt employees. Employees working more than five consecutive hours are entitled to an unpaid 30-minute meal break, plus a paid 10-minute rest break for every four hours worked, scheduled as close to the midpoint of each work period as possible.

Oregon

Oregon requires both meal and rest breaks with specific timing rules. Employees working six or more hours get an unpaid 30-minute meal break — timing depends on shift length, with the window shifting from “between hours 2 and 5” for shorter shifts to “between hours 3 and 6” for shifts over seven hours. A paid 10-minute rest break is required for every four hours worked. Tipped food and beverage servers may voluntarily waive their meal break in writing under certain conditions.

Washington

Washington requires an unpaid 30-minute meal break for shifts over five hours, starting between the second and fifth hour of the shift, plus a second meal break for shifts over 11 hours. Employees also get a paid 10-minute rest break for every four hours worked, and cannot be required to work more than three hours without a rest period. If an employee can’t be fully relieved of duties, the meal break must be paid.

Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania does not require meal or rest breaks for adult employees. However, it is worth noting that if an employer chooses to provide a break, any break under 20 minutes must be paid under federal law. Minor employees ages 14–17 are entitled to a 30-minute break after five or more consecutive hours of work under state child labor law.

Georgia

Georgia does not mandate meal or rest breaks for adult employees. Break rules for minors are governed by federal child labor law.

Are 15-minute breaks required by law?

No federal law requires 15-minute breaks. The 15-minute break is more of an industry norm than a legal mandate in most places.

Some states do require rest breaks, often around 10 to 15 minutes, but many don’t require any rest breaks at all. What matters: if you provide short breaks, federal law says they’re paid time. You can’t dock pay for a 10-minute breather.

Break requirements for minor employees in restaurants

Rules get stricter when you’re scheduling workers under 18. Even states that don’t mandate adult breaks often have specific requirements for minors.

Common requirements for minor employees include:

• More frequent breaks, often required after fewer hours of work than adults
• Longer meal periods in some states
• Additional documentation requirements

Federal child labor laws also apply on top of state requirements. If you hire high schoolers, check both federal and state rules before building their schedules.

Lactation break requirements under federal law

The PUMP Act (Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act) requires employers to provide reasonable break time for nursing employees to express milk.

You also have to provide a private space, not a bathroom, where employees can pump. Lactation breaks are in addition to regular rest and meal breaks, though they can run concurrently if the employee chooses.

PUMP Act protections apply for up to one year after the birth of the employee’s child. After that, the federal requirement no longer applies, though state laws may provide longer protections.

One important caveat for small restaurants: Employers with fewer than 50 employees may assert an undue hardship defense if providing break time and a private space would impose significant difficulty or expense. However, this exemption is narrow, and the employer bears the burden of proving hardship. Consult an employment attorney before relying on it.

What happens if you violate employee break laws

Break violations carry real consequences. Here are some penalties to note:

Federal penalties for break violations

If you don’t pay for breaks that were compensable, like short rest breaks or interrupted meal periods, you’re looking at wage and hour violations. The Department of Labor can investigate, and you may owe back pay plus penalties.

State-level penalties and lawsuits

States with mandated breaks often have specific penalties for violations. California, for example, requires premium pay—one additional hour of pay at the employee’s regular rate—for each workday a required meal break is not provided, and an additional hour for each workday a required rest break is not provided. Other states have their own enforcement mechanisms.

Private lawsuit risks for restaurants

Employees can sue for break violations, and class action lawsuits are common in states with strict break laws. Settlements in break violation cases can be significant, especially when violations affect multiple employees over time.

How to schedule employee breaks during service

You can’t just stop service so everyone can take their break at the same time. Breaks have to work around the reality of restaurant operations.

1. Build breaks into every shift

When you’re creating the schedule, account for break time in your coverage math. Don’t schedule someone for a straight eight hours and hope you’ll find 30 minutes somewhere. Build it in from the start.

2. Stagger break times by station

Don’t send the whole line on break at once. Rotate by position so you always have coverage. Expo breaks at 3 pm, grill at 3:30, sauté at 4:00. Same idea for front of house: stagger servers so sections stay covered.

3. Cross-train for break coverage

When one person goes on break, someone else covers their station. Cross-training isn’t just good for flexibility; it’s essential for break compliance.

How to document breaks to protect your restaurant

Documentation is your defense if a dispute arises. “I never got my break” is hard to argue against without records.

1. Use digital time clock tracking

Paper timesheets get lost, smudged, or disputed. Digital time clocks that track break start and end times create an automatic, timestamped record. Scheduling software like 7shifts can track breaks automatically without extra work from managers.

2. Require break attestations

An attestation is simply the employee confirming they took their break. At clock-out: “Did you receive your meal break today?” A simple yes/no protects against claims that breaks were missed.

3. Keep records for the required retention period

Federal law requires keeping time records for a set period, and state requirements may be longer. Verify with the Department of Labor for current retention requirements.

Managing break compliance across multiple restaurant locations

If you operate restaurants in different states, you’re dealing with different break laws at each location. A policy that works in Texas won’t cut it in California.

• Different states have different requirements: What’s legal in one state may violate another state’s laws
• Managers may not know local rules: Training on location-specific requirements is essential
• Location-specific break policies help: Your scheduling system can manage different break rules by location

Scheduling tools like 7shifts can manage different break rules by location, so your California managers see California requirements and your Texas managers see Texas requirements.

How to create a break policy that keeps your restaurant compliant

A written break policy protects both you and your employees. Include:

• When breaks are provided (after how many hours worked)
• How long each break lasts
• Whether breaks are paid or unpaid
• Where employees can take breaks
• How breaks are documented
• What happens if a break is interrupted

For multi-state operations, consider having your policy reviewed by an employment attorney. The cost of legal review is far less than the cost of a class action lawsuit.

Make scheduling and break tracking easier with 7shifts

Managing employee breaks legally is tedious but necessary. Between tracking different state requirements, documenting breaks, and building them into schedules, it’s a lot to keep straight, especially across multiple locations.

7shifts can help with auto-scheduled breaks, digital time tracking, break attestations, and location-specific rule management.

Start a free trial to see how it works for your restaurant.

Frequently asked questions about restaurant break laws

Can an employee waive their meal break?

It depends on your state. Some states allow meal break waivers under specific conditions, while others don’t permit waivers at all. Check your state labor department for current rules.

Do tipped employees have different break requirements?

No. Break laws apply regardless of how employees are paid. Your tipped servers have the same break rights as your hourly kitchen staff.

What if an employee works through their break voluntarily?

You still pay them for that time. “Voluntary” doesn’t eliminate your obligation. If they worked, it’s compensable.

Are smoke breaks required by law?

No federal or state law requires smoke breaks specifically. If you allow them, treat them consistently across your team and decide whether they count toward rest breaks.

Do break laws apply to salaried restaurant managers?

Break requirements are typically governed by state and local laws, which have their own coverage rules. Whether a manager is classified as exempt or non-exempt under the FLSA determines eligibility for minimum wage and overtime protections, but doesn’t necessarily determine break entitlements.

Many states that mandate breaks apply those requirements regardless of exempt status. If you’re unsure about your obligations, consult an employment attorney.