Readable version: Meal and rest break laws by state, explained state by state. All site datasets: open data · data roundups.
What this dataset covers
Whether each state and DC requires a meal break or rest breaks for adults (and for which employers), the shift length that triggers each break and its length in minutes, whether it is paid, the separate rule for workers under 18, waivers, coverage and penalties. 'none' only where the state's own agency says it has no rule.
Most often unconfirmed in this release: penalty (44), waiver (34), coverage (33), minors (29), rest (19). 15 jurisdictions have their own page on the site (CA, CO, DE, IL, KY, MD, ME, MN, NV, NY, OR, RI, TN, WA, WV); their rows also carry the explanatory text and all sources shown there.
Field dictionary
| Field | Meaning | Type | In this release |
|---|---|---|---|
jurisdiction_code | Two-letter postal code of the state or DC. | string | 51 of 51 filled |
jurisdiction | State name (or District of Columbia). | string | 51 of 51 filled |
agency | State agency that enforces the break rules. Present only for jurisdictions that have their own page on the site. | string | 15 of 51 filled |
law | Statute or rule the official source cites. Present only for jurisdictions that have their own page on the site. | string | 15 of 51 filled |
meal.kind | required, limited (only some employers), reasonable (no set minutes), or none (the state's own page says there is no rule). | string (code) | 41 of 51 filled: none (21), required (17), limited (2), reasonable (1) |
meal.tiers | Break steps: h (hours), gt (true = more than h hours, false = h hours or more), min (minutes), replace (lengthens the previous break instead of adding one). | array of objects | 18 of 51 filled |
meal.paid | paid, unpaid, or unpaid_if_relieved (unpaid only if the employee is relieved of all duty). | string (code) | 11 of 51 filled: unpaid_if_relieved (8), unpaid (3) |
meal.text | The meal break rule in plain English. Present only for jurisdictions that have their own page on the site. | string (free text) | 15 of 51 filled |
meal.wording | The official source's own words. Present only for jurisdictions that have their own page on the site. | string (free text) | 15 of 51 filled |
rest.kind | Same codes as meal.kind, for short rest breaks. | string (code) | 32 of 51 filled: none (24), required (7), reasonable (1) |
rest.tiers | Rest break steps, same fields as meal.tiers. | array of objects | 6 of 51 filled |
rest.paid | Whether required rest breaks are paid. | string (code) | 7 of 51 filled: paid (7) |
rest.text | The rest break rule in plain English. Present only for jurisdictions that have their own page on the site. | string (free text) | 9 of 51 filled |
rest.wording | The official source's own words. Present only for jurisdictions that have their own page on the site. | string (free text) | 9 of 51 filled |
minors.kind | Same codes, for the state's separate rule for minors. | string (code) | 22 of 51 filled: required (21), none (1) |
minors.ages | Ages the minors' rule covers. | string | 21 of 51 filled |
minors.tiers | Minors' break steps, same fields as meal.tiers. | array of objects | 21 of 51 filled |
minors.text | The minors' rule in plain English. Present only for jurisdictions that have their own page on the site. | string (free text) | 7 of 51 filled |
minors.wording | The official source's own words. Present only for jurisdictions that have their own page on the site. | string (free text) | 7 of 51 filled |
waiver | Waivers, agreements and exceptions the official source describes. Present only for jurisdictions that have their own page on the site. | string (free text) | 13 of 51 filled |
coverage | Who the rule covers or exempts. Present only for jurisdictions that have their own page on the site. | string (free text) | 14 of 51 filled |
penalty | Penalty or remedy for a missed break. Present only for jurisdictions that have their own page on the site. | string (free text) | 6 of 51 filled |
notes | Other points from the official source. Present only for jurisdictions that have their own page on the site. | string (free text) | 14 of 51 filled |
unconfirmed | Fields the official sources read did not confirm for this row. Those values are null. | array of strings | 50 of 51 rows list at least one |
source_urls | Links to the official sources (all of them for jurisdictions with their own page; the main linked source for the others). | array of strings | 49 of 51 filled |
checked | When the row's sources were opened (YYYY-MM or YYYY-MM-DD). A row with no official source carries the date of the check that found none. | date (YYYY-MM-DD) | 51 of 51 filled |
page_url | The page on mcc-solutionsnj.com that explains this row. | string (URL) | 51 of 51 filled |
Preview: the first 10 rows
jurisdiction | meal.kind | rest.kind | minors.kind | minors.ages | checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | none | none | required | 14 and 15 | 2026-11 |
| Alaska | none | none | required | 14 through 17 | 2026-11 |
| Arizona | none | none | null | null | 2026-11 |
| Arkansas | null | null | null | null | 2026-11 |
| California | required | required | null | null | 2026-11 |
| Colorado | required | required | null | null | 2026-11 |
| Connecticut | null | null | null | null | 2026-11 |
| Delaware | required | null | null | null | 2026-11 |
| District of Columbia | none | none | null | null | 2026-11 |
| Florida | null | null | required | 15 and under; 16 and 17 on days scheduled 8+ hours | 2026-11 |
6 of 27 columns shown; the downloads have every column in full.
Download formats
The CSV has one row per jurisdiction and one column per field above, UTF-8, comma-separated. Nested fields use dotted names (meal.kind); lists are joined with | , and lists of objects become key: value; key: value items. The JSON keeps types (numbers, true/false, null, arrays) and includes this dictionary, the license and the checked date.
License
License: free to copy, share and adapt, including commercially, under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license.
Attribution required: credit "MCC Solutions" and link to this dataset page (https://mcc-solutionsnj.com/data/meal-breaks). The cite box below has text ready to paste.
Accuracy
Accuracy: every fact comes from an official government page as it read when checked (November 2026 for this release). Anything those pages did not confirm is null and named in the row's unconfirmed list; a null that is not on the list means the point does not apply or the source states none. This is general information, not legal or tax advice. We are not lawyers, and MCC Solutions is not a law firm.
Cite this data
Free to reuse under CC BY 4.0: credit MCC Solutions and link to https://mcc-solutionsnj.com/data/meal-breaks.
Changelog
- November 2026: sources checked for all 51 jurisdictions; this release has 27 fields, 318 confirmed values and 169 unconfirmed items.
- Downloads are generated from the data files on each request, so a corrected file shows up in the CSV and JSON straight away; a new entry is added here when the sources are checked again.