Quick answer. There's no federal meal or rest break requirement for adults, so the state decides. On the official pages we read, 18 states require a meal break for adults, 2 require one only from some employers, and 7 add paid rest breaks. 21 state labor agencies say plainly that they have no break law, and many states set breaks only for minors.
Planning a shift? The meal and rest break checker takes the state and the shift length and lists the breaks the state's rule calls for, with its own wording.
Meal and rest break rules in all 50 states and DC
Select a column heading to sort. "No state rule" means the state's own page says it has none. "Not confirmed" means no official page we could open said either way.
| Source | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | No state rule | No state rule | 30 min, over 5 hrs (14 and 15) | Official page |
| Alaska | No state rule | No state rule | 30 min, at 5 hrs (14 through 17) | Official page |
| Arizona | No state rule | No state rule | Not confirmed | Official page |
| Arkansas | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Official page |
| California | 30 min, over 5 hrs | 10 min from 3½ hrs | Not confirmed | Official page |
| Colorado | 30 min, over 5 hrs | 10 min from 2 hrs | Not confirmed | Official page |
| Connecticut | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Official page |
| Delaware | 30 min, at 7½ hrs | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Official page |
| District of Columbia | No state rule | No state rule | Not confirmed | Official page |
| Florida | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | 30 min, over 4 hrs (15 and under; 16 and 17 on days scheduled 8+ hours) | Official page |
| Georgia | No state rule | No state rule | Not confirmed | Official page |
| Hawaii | No state rule | No state rule | 30 min, over 5 hrs (14 and 15) | Official page |
| Idaho | No state rule | No state rule | Not confirmed | Official page |
| Illinois | 20 min, at 7½ hrs | Not confirmed | 30 min, over 5 hrs (under 16) | Official page |
| Indiana | No state rule | No state rule | No rule | Official page |
| Iowa | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | 30 min, over 5 hrs (14 and 15) | Official page |
| Kansas | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Official page |
| Kentucky | Required (see rule) | 10 min from 4 hrs | 30 min, over 5 hrs (under 18) | Official page |
| Louisiana | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | 30 min, at 5 hrs (under 16) | Official page |
| Maine | 30 min, over 6 hrs | No state rule | Not confirmed | Official page |
| Maryland | Some employers: 15 min, at 4 hrs | Not confirmed | 30 min, at 5 hrs (under 18) | Official page |
| Massachusetts | 30 min, over 6 hrs | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Official page |
| Michigan | No state rule | No state rule | 30 min, over 5 hrs (under 18) | Official page |
| Minnesota | 30 min, at 6 hrs | 15 min from 4 hrs | Not confirmed | Official page |
| Mississippi | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | None found |
| Missouri | No state rule | No state rule | Not confirmed | Official page |
| Montana | No state rule | No state rule | Not confirmed | Official page |
| Nebraska | Some employers: 30 min, at 8 hrs | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Official page |
| Nevada | 30 min, at 8 hrs | 10 min from 3½ hrs | Not confirmed | Official page |
| New Hampshire | 30 min, over 5 hrs | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Official page |
| New Jersey | No state rule | No state rule | 30 min, over 5 hrs (under 18) | Official page |
| New Mexico | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | None found |
| New York | 30 min, over 6 hrs | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Official page |
| North Carolina | No state rule | No state rule | 30 min, over 5 hrs (under 16) | Official page |
| North Dakota | 30 min, over 5 hrs | No state rule | Not confirmed | Official page |
| Ohio | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | 30 min, over 5 hrs (under 18) | Official page |
| Oklahoma | No state rule | No state rule | 30 min, at 5 hrs (14 and 15) | Official page |
| Oregon | 30 min, at 6 hrs | 10 min from 2 hrs | 30 min, at 6 hrs (under 18) | Official page |
| Pennsylvania | No state rule | No state rule | 30 min, at 5 hrs (14 through 17) | Official page |
| Rhode Island | 20 min, at 6 hrs | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Official page |
| South Carolina | No state rule | No state rule | Not confirmed | Official page |
| South Dakota | No state rule | No state rule | Not confirmed | Official page |
| Tennessee | 30 min, at 6 hrs | No state rule | 30 min, at 6 hrs (under 18) | Official page |
| Texas | No state rule | No state rule | Not confirmed | Official page |
| Utah | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Official page |
| Vermont | Reasonable time, no set minutes | Reasonable time, no set minutes | Not confirmed | Official page |
| Virginia | No state rule | No state rule | 30 min, over 5 hrs (under 16) | Official page |
| Washington | 30 min, over 5 hrs | Required (see rule) | 30 min, over 5 hrs (under 18) | Official page |
| West Virginia | 20 min, at 6 hrs | Not confirmed | 20 min, at 6 hrs (16 and 17) | Official page |
| Wisconsin | No state rule | No state rule | 30 min, at 6 hrs (under 18) | Official page |
| Wyoming | No state rule | No state rule | Not confirmed | Official page |
No adult rule confirmed for: Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Ohio, Utah.
How the rules are written
Meal rules turn on a shift length and a minimum break. Some count from "more than" a number of hours (California and Washington after 5, Massachusetts after 6), others from "or more" (Minnesota at 6 consecutive hours, Delaware at 7½, West Virginia at 6). Illinois gives 20 minutes for every 7½ hours, Rhode Island 20 minutes in a 6-hour shift and 30 in an 8-hour shift, and New York ties its rule to the hours around noon. Kentucky sets the timing (between the 3rd and 5th hour) but not a length, and Vermont only asks for reasonable opportunities to eat.
Rest breaks follow a "10 minutes per 4 hours, or major fraction" pattern in California, Colorado, Nevada and Oregon, which is why a 6½-hour shift in California, Colorado or Oregon calls for two (Nevada counts from 3½ and 7 hours instead). Paid status matters: a rest break is paid wherever it's required, while a meal break is usually unpaid only if the employee is completely relieved of duty.
General information checked November 2026 against each state's labor agency or statute site, linked in the table, not legal advice. We are not lawyers, and MCC Solutions is not a law firm. Union contracts, industry rules, city ordinances and federal rules (such as break time for nursing employees) can add to a state rule; the state labor agency or an employment attorney can tell you how a rule applies to one workplace.
Common questions
Which states require a meal break for adults?
On the official pages we checked: California, Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia. Maryland and Nebraska require one only from some employers (Maryland: retail businesses or franchises with 50 or more retail employees each working day for 20 or more calendar weeks, selling to customers in person; Nebraska: an employer operating an assembling plant, workshop or mechanical establishment employing one or more persons).
Which states require paid rest breaks?
California, Colorado, Kentucky, Minnesota, Nevada, Oregon and Washington set short rest breaks, usually 10 minutes for every 4 hours worked; Minnesota's is 15 minutes. Vermont asks for "reasonable opportunities" to use the toilet without setting minutes. Everywhere else, short breaks are up to the employer, though federal law treats a break of 20 minutes or less as paid work time.
Which states say they have no break law at all?
21 labor agencies say so on their own pages: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, District of Columbia, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming. Several of them still set breaks for young workers.
Do minors get breaks when adults don't?
Often. 14 states with no adult meal rule still require one for young workers, usually 30 minutes after about 5 hours: Alabama (14 and 15), Alaska (14 through 17), Florida (15 and under; 16 and 17 on days scheduled 8+ hours), Hawaii (14 and 15), Iowa (14 and 15), Louisiana (under 16), Michigan (under 18), New Jersey (under 18), North Carolina (under 16), Ohio (under 18), Oklahoma (14 and 15), Pennsylvania (14 through 17), Virginia (under 16), Wisconsin (under 18). Indiana went the other way and dropped its minors' break rule.
What happens if an employer skips a required break?
7 of the official pages we read state a consequence. California owes one extra hour of pay per day for a missed meal period and another for a missed rest period; Colorado counts a missed rest break as 10 minutes of unpaid wages; Illinois and Delaware set damages or civil penalties per violation.
Why do some states show 'Not confirmed'?
We fill in a rule only after reading it on the state's labor agency site or its statute site. For Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Ohio, Utah no official page we could open stated an adult rule or said there was none, so the row stays blank rather than guessed.
Related: Meal and rest break checker · Final paycheck laws by state · Paid sick leave laws by state