Original Date: July 16, 2018

Meal and rest (break) periods continue to be a question in the workplace.  These laws can be confusing, based on shift start and hours worked.  Certain states statues or regulations remain silent on defining meal and break periods, which means they follow federal guidelines.  However, New York State, has unique laws and regulations on meal and rest periods.  Regardless of the laws, organizations should err on the side of caution and provide breaks that are most beneficial to the employee.  Breaks and rest periods are good for both the individual and employer.  Set the time for breaks and lunches and hold employees accountable to follow the guidelines on meal and rest periods.

The 4 meal and rest requirements in New York State[i]:

Covered Employees Duration Additional Provisions Exemptions
Factory workers are entitled to two meal breaks for all shifts of more than six hours starting between 1:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. and lasting more than six hours. At least 60 minutes each. The first lunch break must be between 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.; the second meal break must be at the time midway between the beginning and end of the shift. An employer can apply to the Commissioner of the New York State Department of Labor for shorter meal periods. These applications will be granted only if the Commissioner investigates the situation and finds such modifications are warranted by special circumstances.
Non-factory workers are entitled to a lunch break for shifts six hours or longer that extend over that period. At least 30 minutes. Between 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.  
Non-factory workers also are entitled to a meal break for all shifts of more than six hours starting between 1:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. At least 45 minutes. The meal break must be provided at the midpoint of the employees’ shifts.  
All workers are entitled to an additional meal break for workdays that extend from before 11:00 a.m. to after 7:00 p.m. At least 20 minutes. The meal break must be provided between 5:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.  

Bonus meal and rest requirements in Pennsylvania[ii]:

Covered Employees Duration Additional Provisions Exemptions
Minors who have worked for five continuous hours are entitled to a rest break. At least 30 minutes. No period of less than 30 minutes shall be deemed to interrupt a continuous period of work. N/A

Federal Law:

“An employer faces a complicated web of state and federal laws involving break periods. Determining whether an employer must provide break periods and, if so, whether employees must be paid for that time, can prove difficult:

  • The federal FLSA does notrequire an employer to provide meal breaks or rest breaks to employees, but many states’ laws do.
  • The federal FLSA doesrequire an employer to provide employees who are nursing mothers with breastfeeding breaks, as many states’ laws do.
  • Although the federal FLSA does notrequire an employer to pay employees for meal and rest breaks, as long as certain conditions are met, some states do require payment.”[iii]

– Matthew Burr, HR Consultant

[i] Meal and Rest Break Requirements by State, SHRM, Michael Cardman

[ii] Meal and Rest Break Requirements by State, SHRM, Michael Cardman

[iii] https://www.xperthr.com/employment-law-manual/hours-worked-federal/363/?cmpid=PLC%7cUSAG%7cHUSUN-2016-1110-shrm_content_syndication_superlink%7cArticle9543&sfid=701w00000018zEE&partner=SHRM#meal-breaks

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Published by Mathew W. Burr, MJ-LEL, MBA, MHRIR, GPHR, SHRM-SCP, SPHR, CPHR-INT, Chartered CIPD

Mathew W. Burr, MJ-LEL, MBA, MHRIR, GPHR, SHRM-SCP, SPHR, CPHR-INT, Chartered MCIPD Lean Six Sigma Black Belt ABOUT: Matthew Burr has over 18-years of experience working in the human resources field, starting his career as an Industrial Relations Intern at Kennedy Valve Manufacturing to most recently founding and managing a human resource consulting company; Burr Consulting, LLC, Talentscape, LLC and Co-Owner of Labor Love, a Labor, and Employment Law poster printing company. Prior to founding the consulting firm, the majority of his career was heavy industry manufacturing and healthcare. He specializes in compliance auditing, training labor and employment law, conflict resolution, performance management, labor, and employment relations. Matthew has a generalist background in HR and operations, while providing strategic HR and operational solutions to his clients, focusing on small and medium sized organizations. He works as an Adjunct at Alfred State University, Tompkins Cortland Community College, and Montgomery Community College. He successfully designed an HR Concentration in the business management major that aligned with both SHRM and HRCI certifications, providing opportunities for students to sit for both the SHRM-CP and aPHR certifications upon completion of the degree, concentration, and internship hours as an Assistant Professor of Management at Elmira College (Retired January 2022). Matthew is also the SHRM Certification Exam Instructor, with a current pass rate of 92% on the SHRM-SCP and 83% pass rate on the SHRM-CP and a combined 88% on both exams over a 7-year period of instructing the course (Elmira College, Collin College & The College of St. Rose). Matthew works as a trainer at Tompkins Cortland Community College, Corning Community College, Broome Community College, and HR Instructor for Certification Preparation for the Human Resource Certification Institute (HRCI). He also acts as an On-Call Mediator and Factfinder through the Public Employment Relations Board in New York State, working with public sector employers and labor unions. PUBLICATIONS: Matthew has over 70+ publications including, American Bar Association (ABA) Experience Magazine, Cornell HR Review, Business Insider, New York State Bar Association (NYSBA), PayScale, Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM), and Expert 360 (in Australia). In early 2017, he published his first book, “$74,000 in 24 Months: How I killed my student loans (and you can too!),” proceeded by his second book, which was published in January 2021, “Slay the Student Loan Dragon: Tips and Tricks on How to Conquer the Student Loan Game” and his most recent book, “Unbox Your HR Career” in July 2023. VOLUNTEER WORK: Matthew is currently the New York State Society of Human Resource Management (NYSSHRM) District-Director. 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