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Meal And Rest Break Requirements For New York Employers

According to the Department of Labor of New York State, New York-based employers have to provide their employees with a meal break following the completion of a specific work period. Typically, this amounts to a minimum unpaid break of 30 minutes for employees who have worked over six hours, but there are some exceptions to this rule in addition to other break requirements. Learn about the different meal and rest break requirements for New York employers, and find out how Schwab & Gasparini can help organizations with their employment-related legal queries; call our firm’s offices in Syracuse at (315) 422-1333, Albany at (518) 591-4664, or Hudson Valley or White Plains at (914) 304-4353 to continue this discussion with an experienced New York employer defense attorney.

What Is a Meal and Rest Break?

A rest break is a paid short break that allows an employee to rest in the workplace. In contrast, a meal break is a longer, unpaid break giving an employee time to have a meal while also resting. Both types of breaks aim to help avoid fatigue at work, boosting productivity.

What Are the Rest Break Requirements in New York?

Per 29 CFR 785.18, a rest break refers to a period of rest spanning from five to twenty minutes. New York employers do not have to offer employees rest breaks, but if they do, they must count them as working time and employers must compensate employees for them accordingly. Importantly, rest break pay cannot be offset against on-call or waiting time, as well as other working periods.

Some rest break exceptions do exist. For instance, an employer does not need to pay for unauthorized break extensions, provided the employer clearly informs employees that authorized breaks can only last for a certain period, that the break extension breaches company rules, and that the employer will punish any unauthorized break extension.

What Are the Meal Break Requirements in New York

Employees who work more than six hours can take a minimum 30-minute meal break throughout New York. Employers do not legally have to pay for these breaks, and employees may take a meal break in or outside the workplace at the employer’s discretion. Minors have the right to the same meal breaks as adults, but limits on the lengths of shifts during school hours mean this could affect meal break availability.

Minimum meal break times in New York can vary depending on how long the shift is and when it starts and ends. Below is a summary of the different types of meal breaks, exceptions, and an employee’s right to exchange their meal break.

Meal Break Types

Employees who work six hours or more between 11 am and 2 pm can take a 30-minute lunch break. A meal break of 45 minutes is available for employees who work six hours or more between 1 pm and 6 am halfway through their shift. If an employee’s shift begins before 11 am and finishes after 7 pm, they can take an extra meal break of 20 minutes between 5 pm and 7 pm.

Explore New York meal and rest break requirements in greater detail, and learn how Schwab & Gasparini might assist employers with their legal concerns in this area. Contact our firm today to book a consultation with a seasoned New York employer defense attorney.

New York Meal Break Exceptions

The Department of Labor of New York may allow employers to shorten employee meal breaks that are over half an hour long to a minimum of 30 minutes if this does not lead to the employee experiencing hardship. Occasionally, an employer can also provide employees with only a 20-minute meal break if the DOL permits this following an investigation. To be able to offer shorter meal breaks, employers must file a form with the DOL to obtain a special permit.

Some businesses may only have a single person working at any point. In this scenario, an employee may eat their meals while working, provided they consent in writing (demonstrating that the employee may have to knowingly take an interrupted meal break and that the employee knows the employer operates in an industry where it is common for only one person to work at any one time) and prior to receiving an offer of employment or before their initial meal break. If the employee refuses to consent to this, the employer must provide an uninterrupted meal break.

Employee Meal Break Exchange

An employee can choose to exchange their meal break for additional rest and meal breaks at alternative times provided this meets certain conditions. Such an exchange is possible if, due to the industry’s operational requirements, strictly adhering to meal break provisions is impractical. These conditions also include the employee agreeing to make the exchange knowingly and openly, without the use of coercion or being under duress, through honest negotiations and the employee receiving a desirable benefit in exchange for waiving their right to a meal break.

Other New York Break Rules

Employers can pay healthcare attendants working a 24-hour shift at someone else’s residence for 13 hours, as long as the attendant can take an uninterrupted sleep break of five hours and three additional one-hour breaks. Factory, hospitality, and retail employees, among those working in certain other industries, must receive a minimum of one rest day each week. An employer must give women a minimum 20-minute breastfeeding break each time they need to pump milk, which they can take unpaid or use as one of their paid breaks (if permitted to take a paid break), and nursing mothers must receive a break every three hours.

New York Factory Worker Meal Break Requirements Explained

New York meal break rules differ for factory workers, defined as employees involved in factory maintenance or operations who complete their main duties in a location deemed to be a factory (including workshops, mills, and other manufacturing workplaces, as well as their connected structures, but not including facilities that repair powerhouses, generating plants, and ships, in addition to other structures run or owned by public service corporations). In New York, factory workers can take an hour-long lunch break between 11 am and 12 pm, alongside an hour-long meal break halfway through their shift, so long as the shift is more than six hours long and starts at some point between 1 pm and 6 am. Moreover, these factory workers can take an extra meal break of 20 minutes between 5 pm and 7 pm if their shift starts before 11 am and finishes after 7 pm.

Speak to a New York Employer Defense Attorney To Find Out More

Even though federal laws do not provide employees with compulsory meal breaks, instead only allowing shorter paid breaks ranging between five and twenty minutes, state labor laws in New York do give employees extensive protections concerning meal breaks. Both New York employers and employees should be aware of these rules to ensure compliance, clearly outlined in regulations, and how they affect the workday. Gain a further understanding of meal and rest break requirements for New York employers, and discover how a knowledgeable New York employer defense lawyer may help businesses with their legal issues; contact Schwab & Gasparini’s offices in Albany at (518) 591-4664, Syracuse at (315) 422-1333, or Hudson Valley or White Plains at (914) 304-4353 today to schedule a consultation.

 

Sun Jan 12 2025, 12:00am