Meal and rest breaks: what the federal FLSA hours-worked rules actually require

Many employees assume federal law guarantees a lunch break. The Fair Labor Standards Act’s hours-worked rules, in 29 CFR part 785, are narrower than that. They mainly answer a different question: if a break is given, does it count as paid working time?

Short rest periods are hours worked

29 CFR 785.18, rest is a short, direct rule. It says that rest periods of short duration, running from 5 minutes to about 20 minutes, are common in industry. They promote the efficiency of the employee and are customarily paid as working time. They must be counted as hours worked. Compensable time of rest periods may not be offset against other working time such as compensable waiting time or on-call time.

Bona fide meal periods are not worktime

29 CFR 785.19, meal(a) says bona fide meal periods are not worktime. Bona fide meal periods do not include coffee breaks or time for snacks. These are rest periods. “The employee must be completely relieved from duty for the purposes of eating regular meals. Ordinarily 30 minutes or more is long enough for a bona fide meal period. A shorter period may be long enough under special conditions.” The employee is not relieved if required to perform any duties, whether active or inactive, while eating. For example, an office employee who is required to eat at a desk or a factory worker who is required to be at a machine is working while eating. It is not necessary that an employee be permitted to leave the premises if the employee is otherwise completely freed from duties during the meal period.

29 CFR 785.16, off duty separately discusses periods when the employee is off duty. Together, these sections are about how to count time, not about a federal mandate that every workplace must schedule a lunch.

What this means at work

If your employer gives you a 10- or 15-minute rest break, federal hours-worked rules treat that time as paid working time. If you are given a meal period of 30 minutes or more and you are completely relieved of duty, that time is not hours worked under 29 CFR 785.19. If you have to watch a station, answer a phone, or stay on call in a way that is not complete relief from duty, the meal period may have to be counted as worktime. State laws can require meal or rest breaks that federal law does not. Check your state. This page is educational, not legal advice.

Header image: Photo: “Employees eating during their half hour lunch period in the plant-operated cafet” by Marjory Collins, PUBLIC DOMAIN (cropped).