Meal Period and Rest Breaks (All states except California)

You and your employees work hard – take a break! Meal periods and rest breaks help employees refresh, recharge, and perform at their best. When scheduling meal periods and rest breaks, be mindful of the meal period and rest break requirements that apply to your store location.

Meal Period is defined with the following guidelines unless state law mandates more a generous meal period.

  • Employees who work six or more hours will receive one 30-minute, unpaid meal period
  • Employees must clock out at the beginning of their meal period, and clock in when they return
  • Meal periods should be taken away from customer service areas (i.e. in a store break room or off premises), exceptions may apply for single coverage locations

Rest Break is defined as follows, unless state law mandates more generous rest breaks:

  • Employees who work fewer than four hours are not entitled to a rest break
  • Employees who work four or more hours, but fewer than eight hours, should take 1 (one) 15-minute paid rest break
  • Employees who work eight hours, but fewer than 10 hours, should take 2 (two) 15-minute paid rest breaks
  • Employees who work 10 or more hours should take 3 (three) 15-minute paid rest break

Please Note: Meal & rest break policies are outlined in the EssilorLuxottica Employee Guide. Single coverage locations may require paid on-duty meal periods and rest breaks.

Federal law requires breaks lasting 20 minutes or less to be paid.  Employees should not clock out for breaks less than 20 minutes.

The chart below lists state meal period and rest break requirements. If the chart does not list specific meal period and/or rest break requirements for the state where your store is located, follow these Company meal period and rest break guidelines at your store:

State Meal Period Rest Break Single Coverage/Other Exceptions
CA See Meal Periods and Rest Breaks (California).
CO 30 minutes (unpaid) after 5 hours of work. Paid 10-minute rest break for each 4-hour work period or major fraction thereof; to be scheduled as near as practicable to middle of work period. Paid on-duty meal period permitted.
CT 30 minutes for employees who work 7 consecutive hours or more (to be scheduled after first 2 hours and before last 2 hours of shift). No specific legal requirement (follow rest break guidelines that precede chart). Paid on-duty meal period permitted. Meal period requirement does not apply if employee is provided 30 or more total minutes of paid rest or meal periods.
DE 30 minutes for employees who work 7 consecutive hours or more (to be scheduled after first 2 hours and before last 2 hours of shift). No specific legal requirement (follow rest period guidelines that precede chart). Paid on-duty meal period permitted.
IL 20 minutes for employees who work 7 consecutive hours or more (to be scheduled no more than 5 hours after the start of the shift). No specific legal requirement (follow rest break guidelines that precede chart). Paid on-duty meal periods are not permitted (for shifts in excess of 7 hours).
KY Reasonable off-duty meal period, ordinarily one hour but shorter period permitted under special conditions, between 3rd and 5th hour of work, for employees that work 5 or more consecutive hours. Not counted as time worked. Coffee breaks and snack time not to be included in meal period. Paid 10-minute rest break for each 4-hour work period.

 

Rest break must be in addition to regularly scheduled meal period.

 Employee may agree to take paid on-duty meal period or waive the meal period in its entirety.
ME 30 minutes after 6 consecutive hours of work. Applicable to places of employment where 3 or more employees are on duty at one time. No specific legal requirement (follow rest break guidelines the precede chart). Paid on-duty meal period permitted.
MD 30-minute nonworking meal break for every 6 or more consecutive hours of work (locations with more than 5 employees only). 15-minute nonworking rest break for every 4-6 consecutive hours of work (locations with more than 5 employees only).

Second 15-minute nonworking rest break for every 4 consecutive hours of work for single shifts of 8 hours or more (locations with more than 5 employees only).

 Meal period is permitted with a written agreement between employer and employee where employee works fewer than 6 consecutive hours.

Employee must sign agreement and may revoke agreement at any time by contacting your manager.  Agreement can be found in the preboarding system and available upon request by contacting the Human Resource Service Center at 1-866-431-8484 or preboarding@luxotticaretail.com
MA 30 minutes after 6 consecutive hours of work. No specific legal requirement (follow rest break guidelines that precede chart). Paid on-duty meal period permitted.
MN Sufficient unpaid time for employees who work 8 consecutive hours or more. Paid adequate rest break within each 4 consecutive hours of work, to utilize nearest convenient restroom. Paid on-duty meal period permitted.
NV 30 minutes for shift of 8 continuous hours. Applicable to employers of two or more employees. Paid 10-minute rest break for each 4 hours worked or major fraction thereof; to be scheduled as practicable, in middle of each work period. Not required for employees whose total daily work time is less than 3 hours. Paid on-duty meal period permitted.
NH 30 minutes after 5 consecutive hours, unless feasible for employee to eat while working and is permitted to do so by employer. No specific legal requirement (follow rest period guidelines that precede chart). Paid on-duty meal period permitted.
NM 30 minutes (unpaid). No specific legal requirement (follow rest period guidelines that precede chart). No specific exceptions.
NY 30 minute period for employees who work shifts of more than 6 hours that extend over the noon day meal period. An additional 20 minutes between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. for those employed on a shift starting before 11 a.m. and continuing after 7 p.m. 45 minutes midway in shift, for those employed more than a 6-hour period starting between 1 p.m. and 6 a.m. No specific legal requirement (follow rest break guidelines that precede chart). For single coverage locations, employee may agree to take paid on-duty meal period. Employee must sign agreement and may revoke agreement at any time.  Agreement can be found in the pre-boarding system and available upon request by contacting the Human Resource Service Center at 1-866-431-8484 or preboarding@luxotticaretail.com
ND 30 minutes, if desired, on each shift exceeding 5 hours. Applicable when two or more employees are on duty. Employees who are completely relieved of their duties but required to remain on site do not have to be paid. No specific legal requirement (follow rest break guidelines that precede chart). Paid on-duty meal period permitted.
OR 30 minute duty-free meal period (unpaid) for each work period of 6 to 8 hours, to be scheduled between 2nd and 5th hour for work period of 7 hours or less and between 3rd and 6th hour for work period over 7 hours. Paid 10-minute rest break for every 4-hour segment or major portion thereof in one work period; to be scheduled, as feasible, approximately in middle of each segment of work period. Rest period must be in addition to usual meal period and taken separately; not to be added to usual meal period or deducted from beginning or end of work period to reduce overall length of total work period.

Rest break is not required for employees age 18 or older who work alone in a retail or service establishment serving the general public and who work less than 5 hours in a period of 16 continuous hours.

 Paid on-duty meal period permitted.
PR 1 hour, after end of 3rd but before beginning of 6th consecutive hour worked. Requirement for a second meal period for employees who work up to 10 hours may be waived with approval of Secretary of Labor. Double time pay required for work during meal hour or fraction thereof. Meal period may be shortened to 30 minutes for convenience of employee by mutual employer-employee consent.  Meal period agreement is presented at time of hire in pre-boarding system to see if employee agreed to 30 minute meal period for future scheduling.  Timekeeping system will automatically update with signed waivers and pay requirement premiums.
RI All Employees are entitled to a 20-minute meal period within a six hour work shift, and a 30 minute meal period within an eight hour work shift. Applies to all employees except to an employer who employs less than three employees on any shift at the work site. No specific legal requirement (follow rest break guidelines that precede chart). Paid on-duty meal period permitted.
TN 30 minutes for employees scheduled to work 6 consecutive hours or more. No specific legal requirement (follow rest break guidelines that precede chart). Paid on-duty meal period permitted.
WA 30 minutes, if work period is more than 5 consecutive hours, to be scheduled not less than 2 hours or more than 5 hours from beginning of shift.

Additional one hour, before or during overtime, for employees who work 3 or more hours beyond regular workday.
Paid 10-minute rest break for each 4-hour work period, scheduled as near as possible to midpoint of each work period. Employee may not be required to work more than 3 hours without a rest break. Scheduled rest breaks not required where nature of work allows employee to take intermittent rest breaks equivalent to required standard.
Paid on-duty meal period permitted.
WV 20 minutes for employees who work 6 consecutive hours or more. No specific legal requirement (follow rest break guidelines that precede chart). Paid on-duty meal period permitted.

Meal Period and Rest Break DO’s & DON’Ts

DO

  • DO schedule and communicate meal periods/breaks in advance (no sooner than one hour after the start and no later than one hour before the end of an employee’s scheduled work period).
  • DO require employees to notify you and/or another authorized employee before leaving the store for meal periods or rest breaks.
  • DO permit employees to leave the store for their meal periods and rest breaks, where circumstances permit.
  • DO require employees to clock out/in for meal periods and designate the time as a meal period in the timekeeping system.

DON’T

  • DON’T combine meal periods with other paid breaks.
  • DON’T schedule meal periods/breaks back-to-back.
  • DON’T permit friends, relatives, and other non-employees to enter the store break room during meal periods and rest breaks.

Meal Period and Rest Break FAQ

Q: What should I do if I know my employee took a meal period but forgot to clock out/in the timekeeping system?
A: As soon as you discover this, confirm with the employee when he/she took the meal period and explain that you will edit their time to reflect the meal period.  You should then adjust the employee’s time in the timekeeping system.  Employees should sign off on any time changes.  Reinforce clock in/out practices with the employee and instruct him/her to follow proper practices going forward.

Q: I sometimes let my employees work through their meal period and/or rest break if the store is too busy or they do not want to take it.  Is this ok?
A: It depends.  In some states, failure to comply with meal period and rest break requirements may result in fines and penalties, as well as corrective action up to and including termination of employment. Check the chart above to confirm your state’s requirements.  If your state does not have specific requirements, you should adhere to the Company meal period and rest break policy found at the beginning of this topic section and in the EssilorLuxottica Employee Guide whenever possible.