This article is for employers who manage break policies for overtime-eligible employees.
Several states require that employees be given an unpaid meal break and paid rest breaks after working a certain number of hours each day. Make sure to check your state laws before creating break policies.
Administrators with the required permissions can set up meal and rest breaks in Gusto.
If Time tracking is not part of your Gusto product plan, upgrade at any time.
Meal and rest break rules only apply to overtime-eligible employees, not contractors or overtime-ineligible employees.
Meal and rest break policies in Gusto are designed to help with compliance. If you have a policy in place, missed breaks will be flagged on assigned team members’ timesheets.
Extra breaks are not flagged.
Note: Gusto supports paid and unpaid breaks. You’ll see an alert on employee timesheets when they've reported too many hours worked without a break.
Meal and rest breaks serve different purposes.
Rest breaks are usually short (under 20 minutes) and paid, so they count toward overtime.
Meal breaks have different rules and penalties if missed, which vary by state.
Use these basics to understand your obligations.
Rest breaks: Short, paid, and generally count as working time.
Meal breaks: Separate from rest breaks. States set their own rules and penalties for missed meal breaks.
Regular rate of pay: This includes the base hourly wage plus extra pay that is part of regular earnings, such as commissions and guaranteed non-discretionary bonuses.
Rules vary by state (and in some places, by city or county). Always confirm your local requirements.
California
Rest breaks: California requires a paid 10-minute rest break for employees who work 3.5 hours or longer.
Penalty for missed rest or meal break: If you fail to provide a required rest or meal break, you must pay the employee a break premium of one additional hour at their regular rate of pay.
Colorado
Rest breaks: Colorado requires a paid 10-minute rest break for each 2–6 hours worked, a second for 6–10 hours, a third for 10–14 hours, and so on for each additional four hours of work.
A break premium is extra pay you owe when a required break does not happen (involuntarily skipped, delayed, shortened, or interrupted).Pay a break premium when a required meal or rest break was missed.
If you add break premiums to a policy, they're are automatically calculated and will appear on employee timesheets. Premium hours are synced to payroll with all timesheet hours.
Example of California break premiums
Amount: 1 hour at the employee’s regular rate of pay.
Applies to: Each missed meal break or rest break.
Daily limit: Maximum 2 hours of break premium per workday
If more than two breaks were missed in the same workday, you still pay no more than 2 hours of break premium for that day.
Rest and meal break requirements vary by state and sometimes by city or county. Consult specialized employment counsel to confirm the rules that apply to your company.
Q: Can an employee choose to skip a meal or rest break?
A: In many states, if you provide a break, employees may choose to skip it. In some states, such as California, employees may skip breaks only under certain conditions. Ask your HR professional or legal counsel which policy you should use.
Q: Do employees get both meal and rest breaks?
A: Many states that require breaks expect employers to provide both. Confirm your exact obligations with your HR professional or legal counsel.
Consult an HR professional or your legal counsel to make sure you're meeting the requirements applicable to your company. When you're ready, learn how to set up breaks in Gusto.
This table includes information about the length of the meal and rest breaks, when they should be taken, and important notes to consider.
This table was last revised Jun 2025
State
Meal break requirements
Rest break requirements
Additional notes
Missed break premiums, exempted industries, etc
California
Employees are entitled to an unpaid meal break of 30 minutes for every 5 hours worked. The meal break may be waived by mutual agreement if the workday is completed in no more than 6 hours.
Employees are entitled to a second meal break of 30 minutes for every 10 hours worked. The second meal break may be waived by mutual agreement if both: (1) The total hours worked is not more than 12 hours, and (2) The first meal period was not waived.
In addition to unpaid meal breaks, paid rest periods must be provided to employees working more than 3.5 hours per workday at a rate of 10 minutes for every 2 hours worked.
For example, employees should receive 10 minutes for shifts from 3.5-6 hours, and a total of 20 minutes of rest breaks for shifts of more than 6-10 hours.
These rest periods must be counted as hours worked and are compensable.
Meal breaks may only be waived if the employee works less than 6 hours in a workday.
A second meal break may only be waived if the first meal break was not waived and the total hours worked is not more than 12.
There are some exempted industries.
If you fail to provide a required meal or rest break, you must pay the employee a break premium: one additional hour of pay at the employee’s regular rate for each missed break.
The law limits break premium pay to two hours per workday.
Colorado
Employees must get one unpaid 30+ minute meal break for every scheduled shift of 5+ hours.
In addition to unpaid meal breaks, employees are entitled to a 10-minute rest period as follows:
One rest period for 2-6 hours of work.
Two rest periods for 6-10 hours.
Three rest periods for 10-14 hours.
Four, five, or six rest periods for work periods of 14-18, 18-22, or 22+ hours.
Required rest periods count as working time.
There are some exempted industries.
Connecticut
Employees must get one unpaid meal break of 30+ minutes if working more than 7.5 hours.
The break must take place between the first two and last two hours of the shift.
There are some exempted industries.
Delaware
Employees must get one unpaid meal break of 30+ minutes if working more than 7.5 hours.
The break must take place between the first two and last two hours of the shift.
There are some exempted industries.
Illinois
Employees working 7.5+ hours are entitled to a meal break of 20+ minutes, beginning no later than 5 hours after starting work.
Employees working more than 7.5 hours are entitled to an additional 20-minute meal break for every 4.5 continuous hours worked.
There are some exempted industries.
Kentucky
Employees are entitled to one unpaid meal break of 30+ minutes as close to the middle of their shift as possible, but not less than 3, or more than 5 hours after their shift begins.
In addition to unpaid meal breaks, employees are entitled to a paid 10-minute rest period during each 4 hours of work.
Rest periods of 5 to “about” 20 minutes are compensable working time and may not be offset against other working time, such as waiting or on-call time.
The requirement does not apply to collective bargaining agreements.
There are some exempted industries.
Maine
Employees are entitled to an unpaid meal or rest break of 30+ minutes if working 6+ hours.
Employees are entitled to an unpaid meal or rest break of 30+ minutes if working 6+ hours.
The requirement does not apply to collective bargaining agreements.
There are some exempted industries.
The rest break requirement does not apply where both:
Less than 3 employees are on duty at any one time.
Operations allow employees frequent, shorter paid breaks during the workday.
Maryland
Employees in certain retail establishments working 6+ hours are entitled to a 30+ minute meal break.
Only applies to certain retail establishments with 50+ employees.
There are some exempted industries.
Massachusetts
Employees are entitled to a break of 30+ minutes if working 6+ hours.
Employees may voluntarily waive the meal break, but any waiver agreement should be in writing.
Michigan
There are no requirements for breaks, meal or rest periods for employees 18 years of age or older.
Employees under the age of 18 may not work more than five hours without a documented 30-minute uninterrupted break.
Daily time records should reflect the starting and ending of shifts as well as the 30-minute uninterrupted break.
Minnesota
Employees working 8+ hours are entitled to 30+ minutes for a meal break.
The requirement does not apply to collective bargaining agreements.
Nebraska
Employees in certain industries working 8+ hours are entitled to 30+ minutes for a meal break.
Only applies to employees working in assembly plants, workshops, or mechanical establishments.
Nevada
Employees are entitled to an unpaid meal break of 30+ minutes for each 8-hour work period.
In addition to unpaid meal breaks, paid rest periods must be provided to employees working more than 3.5 hours per workday at a rate of 10 minutes for every 2-4 hours worked.
For example, employees should receive 10 mins for shifts from 3.5-6 hours, and a total of 20 minutes of rest breaks for shifts lasting more than 6-10 hours.
These rest periods must be counted as hours worked and are compensable.
Employees may voluntarily waive the meal break, but any waiver agreement should be in writing.
The requirement does not apply to collective bargaining agreements.
New Hampshire
Employees working more than 5 hours are entitled to a 30+ minute period, unless it's feasible for employees to eat while working and the employer allows them to do so.
If an employee works while eating, the meal period must be paid.
Employees may voluntarily waive the meal break, but any waiver agreement should be in writing.
New York
Employees working 6+ hours that extend over the noonday meal period (11:00am-2:00pm) are entitled to a 30+ minute meal break during that period, which may be unpaid.
If the 6+ hour shift starts between 1:00pm and 6:00am the employee is entitled to a 45+ minute meal break midway between the beginning and end of the shift.
Factory workers have different requirements.
Timing requirements may vary depending on when the shift starts.
North Dakota
Employees working more than 5 hours are entitled to a 30+ minute period.
Employees starting work before 11 AM and continuing until after 7 PM must be allowed an additional rest period of 20+ minutes between 5:00–7:00pm.
Applies when there are 2+ employees on duty.
Employees may voluntarily waive the meal break, but any waiver agreement should be in writing.
The requirement does not apply to collective bargaining agreements.
Oregon
Employees working 6-14 hours are entitled to one 30+ meal break.
Employees working 14-22 hours are entitled to two 30+ minute meal breaks.
Employees working 22-24 hour shifts are entitled to three 30+ minute meal breaks.
In addition to unpaid meal breaks, employees working 2-6 hours are entitled to one 10-minute paid rest break.
Employees working 6-10 hours are entitled to two 10-minute rest breaks.
Employees working 10-18 hours are entitled to four 10-minute rest breaks.
Employees working 18-22 hours are entitled to five 10-minute rest breaks.
In addition to meal breaks, employees working 22-24 hours are entitled to six 10-minute rest breaks.
The requirement does not apply to collective bargaining agreements.
There may be extreme situations where an employer is not required to give a meal break.
When calculating whether a meal break is due, the unpaid 30+ minute meal break does not count as part of the work period, provided that the employee was free to take the break and was relieved from their duties.
Rhode Island
Employees are entitled to a 20-minute meal period for 6-hour shifts, and a 30-minute meal period for an 8-hour shift.
There are some exempted industries.
Tennessee
Employees working 6+ hours are entitled to a 30+ minute meal or rest break after the first hour of work.
Employees working 6+ hours are entitled to a 30+ minute meal or rest break after the first hour of work
Employees in certain industries may voluntarily waive the meal break, but any waiver agreement should be in writing.
There are some exempted industries.
Vermont
Employers must provide employees with a “reasonable opportunity” to eat during work periods.
Employers must provide employees with a “reasonable opportunity” to use the restroom during work periods.
Rule applies to meal and restroom breaks.
Washington
Employees who work 5+ hours are entitled to a 30+ minute meal break no less than 2 hours and no more than 5 hours after the start of the employee’s normal workday.
An additional 30-minute meal break must be given within 5 hours after the end of the employee’s last meal break, and for every 5 hours thereafter during the work period.
In addition to unpaid meal breaks, employees must be allowed a paid rest period, free from duties, of 10+ minutes for every 4 hours worked. Employees cannot work more than 3 hours without getting a rest break.
Employees may voluntarily waive the meal break, but waiver agreements should be in writing.
There are additional meal break requirements during overtime hours.
West Virginia
Employees who work 6+ hours per day, or shift, are entitled to a 20+ minute meal break.