Federal Employment Laws on Breaks
U.S. employees have legal rights to compensation, conditions and characteristics of break periods during work time. Some of these rights come from the federal government and some from state governments. The state laws cannot contradict any rights bestowed on workers by the federal employment laws, which are set out in the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Occupational Safety & Health Act (OSHA). Federal employment laws on breaks fall into five categories: rest breaks, meal breaks, sleep breaks, health breaks and bathroom breaks.
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Rest Breaks
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The FLSA recognizes that employers often provide short breaks to workers between five and 20 minutes. These breaks are for the purpose of resting, smoking, using the bathroom or eating a snack. Neither the FLSA nor any federal law mandates employers to provide this break no matter how many hours are worked. However, if employers do provide this break, it shall count toward hours worked. Employees, when given these breaks, must be paid for them.
Meal Breaks
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Federal employment laws define a meal break as time taken when the worker has no job-related responsibilities, usually for a period of 30 minutes or more. If an employee is asked to sit at her desk or answer calls during the period, it does not qualify as a meal break. Employers can ask workers to stay at the job site during meal breaks. Federal employment law does not mandate employers to provide meal breaks under any circumstances. Further, employers do not need to pay workers for meal periods. They are not hours worked.
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Sleep Breaks
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Employees that work for more than 24 consecutive hours may need breaks to sleep. Federal employment laws do not mandate that employers provide sleeping breaks in these circumstances. However, if the worker arranges such a break with his employer, the employer does not need to pay her for the break. According the the FLSA, sleeping breaks are not hours worked. To qualify as a sleeping break, the period must be between five and eight hours.
Health Breaks
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Title I of the ADA is designed to prevent discrimination in the workplace against individuals with disabilities. Under the ADA, an employer must make reasonable accommodation for special needs. This includes breaks for individuals with diabetes to have snacks and check their blood levels. The ADA does not provide a list of other health breaks, instead preferring for the details to be worked out between employer and worker or, if necessary, in court.
Bathroom Breaks
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There is no federal law that directly addresses bathroom breaks, however, the Occupational Safety & Health Administration determined that an "employer may not impose unreasonable restrictions on employee use of the [toilet] facilities." In other words, there are no strict rules regarding time limits or pay for bathroom breaks, but workers should have access to bathrooms and be able to use them when needed.
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