Work Hours
Breaks & Meal PeriodsFederal law does not require lunch or coffee breaks. However, when employers do offer short breaks (usually lasting about 5 to 20 minutes), federal law considers the breaks as compensable work hours that would be included in the sum of hours worked during the work week 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 and, thus, are not work time and are not compensable. DOL Web Pages on This TopicHours Worked Under
the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) Wage and Hour Division's Frequently Asked Questions What Does the Fair Labor
Standards Act (FLSA) NOT Require? Regulations on Rest
Periods Regulations on Meal
Periods General
Information About the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) Handy Reference Guide
to the Fair Labor Standards Act Coverage Under the
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) Fact Sheet Wage & Hour
Division: District Office Locations State Labor
Offices/State Laws Related Web Pages on This Topic
State
and Local Government Information Provided by the Library of Congress Laws & Regulations on This TopicRegulations on rest and meal periods make a distinction between rest periods (usually lasting 5 to 20 minutes) and compensable waiting time or on-call time, all of which are paid work time and meal periods (typically lasting at least 30 minutes that are not compensable work time. Regulations 29 CFR
785.19 |