Texas Employment Laws: Breaks
Workday breaks help employees stay physically fresh and mentally alert. But employers may have reasons for not providing breaks during the workday, such as maintaining the flow of the business operation, and most states leave the issue of breaks to the employer rather than make them mandatory. Texas is among the states with no break laws in its labor code, and federal labor laws likewise make breaks optional.
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State Requirements
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Texas labor laws make no mention of requiring meal breaks or shorter rest periods for employees. In fact, fewer than half of the states have meal break requirements in their labor codes. Most of the states that enforce meal break provisions require 30-minute breaks for employees who work all or most of a full-time shift.
Federal Requirements
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The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), a law regulating labor and employment at the federal level, does not make meal breaks or rest periods mandatory. According to the Wage and Hour Division, the branch of the U.S. Department Of Labor that administers the FLSA, employers may schedule employees to work any number of consecutive hours as long as the employer pays all due wages and, when applicable, overtime pay.
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Nursing Mothers
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Beginning in 2010, as part of the federal health care reform law, mothers with newborns in Texas and other states must have the opportunity to take breaks for expressing breast milk to their babies. The law covers mothers with babies less than a year old. It requires employers to allow breaks of "reasonable" frequency and duration, according to the law, as well as provide a private area for the employee to express her milk. Employers with fewer than 50 employees may receive an exemption from the law if allowing such breaks would create an undue hardship on business operations. The nursing break does not have to count as paid work time.
Additional Considerations
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While not requiring breaks in the first place, the FLSA imposes standards for break periods when employers make them available. Employers should continue paying employees at their usual wage rate during rest, coffee or smoking breaks that last 20 minutes or less. Employers may refrain from paying employees during meal breaks that last at least 30 minutes as long as employees on break have to perform no job duties. Aside from those provisions, employers have full authority to set any break policies, including when they occur and their duration.
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