How many breaks are required in an 8-hour shift?

The federal rule, precisely

• Short breaks of about 5 to 20 minutes are counted as hours worked and must be paid.
• Bona fide meal periods, normally 30 minutes or more, may be unpaid — but only if the employee is completely relieved of duty. Eating at a desk while answering calls is paid time.
• Nursing employees have a federal right to reasonable break time and a private space, under the FLSA as amended by the PUMP Act.

Typical state pattern

The common structure in states that regulate breaks is a 30-minute unpaid meal period for a shift over five or six hours, plus a paid 10-minute rest period for every four hours worked. California and Washington are the best-known examples, and California adds premium pay of one hour's wages for each day a required break is missed. Many states impose stricter rules for minors than for adults, even where adults have no entitlement at all.

Where the money is

Break claims are usually wage claims. Automatic deduction of a 30-minute lunch that was not actually taken, work performed during an unpaid break, and being kept on call through a meal period are the fact patterns behind most successful cases. Time records and your own contemporaneous notes carry them.

What to check first

Your state's labour department page, then the employee handbook, then your actual time records. A collective bargaining agreement or an employment contract can give more than the law requires — never less.