Periods for meals and rest.
1. An employer shall not employ an employee for a continuous period of 8 hours without permitting the employee to have a meal period of at least one-half hour. No period of less than 30 minutes interrupts a continuous period of work for the purposes of this subsection.
2. Every employer shall authorize and permit all his employees to take rest periods, which, insofar as practicable, shall be in the middle of each work period. The duration of the rest periods shall be based on the total hours worked daily at the rate of 10 minutes for each 4 hours or major fraction thereof. Rest periods need not be authorized however for employees whose total daily work time is less than 3 and one-half hours. Authorized rest period shall be counted as hours worked, for which there shall be no deduction from wages.
3. This section does not apply to:
(a) Situations where only one person is employed at a particular place of employment.
(b) Employees included within the provisions of a collective bargaining agreement.
4. An employer may apply to the Labor Commissioner for an exemption from providing to all or to one or more defined categories of his employees one or more of the benefits conferred by this section. The Labor Commissioner may grant the exemption if he believes the employer has shown sufficient evidence that business necessity precludes providing such benefits. Any exemption so granted shall apply to members of either sex.
5. The Labor Commissioner may by regulation exempt a defined category of employers from providing to all or to one or more defined categories of their employees one or more of the benefits conferred by this section, upon his own motion or upon the application of an association of employers. Each such application shall be considered at a hearing and may be granted if the Labor Commissioner finds that business necessity precludes providing that particular benefit or benefits to the employees affected. Any exemption so granted shall apply to members of either sex.
Last modified: February 25, 2006