New York State Labor Law on Breaks for Part-Timers

Overview

• Under the New York State Labor Law, employees who work more than six hours must have at least 30 minutes to eat if they work shifts between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Employees who work at least six hours during this period must have at least one 30-minute lunch break between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Employers are not required to pay their employees for their meal breaks if they provide them with at least an uninterrupted 30-minute lunch break. Employers who require their employees to work during this time must pay them for their entire lunch breaks. Although New York law requires employers to provide their employees with meal breaks, it does not require employers to provide their employees with rest breaks.
  
  

Factory Employees

• Employers who hire employees to work in factories must give their employees at least a one hour lunch period if they work at least six hours between 1 p.m. and 6 a.m. These employees must have at least 60 minutes to eat midway during their shifts. However, mercantile factory employers are only required to provide their employees with 45 minutes to eat.
  
  

Additional Meal Breaks

• Employees, who work shifts that begin before 11 a.m. and do not end until after 7 p.m., must have an additional meal period that lasts at least 20 minutes. The 20-minute additional meal break must be between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. Thus, employees who work at least eight hours in shifts beginning before 11 a.m. and continue until after 7 p.m. are entitled to a 30-minute lunch break between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. and an additional 20-minute dinner break between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. However, employees who work in the mercantile industry or in factories must have 45 minutes or 60 minutes to take a midday lunch break and an additional 20 minutes to eat their dinners.
  
  

Federal Law

• Although New York law does not require employers to pay their employees for their meal breaks, federal law requires them to pay for meal breaks that do not last at least 30 minutes. As such, an employer who provides his employees with the bare 20-minute minimum dinner break must pay his employees for the second break. However, if he provides his employees with at least 30 minutes to eat, then under both New York law and the federal labor regulations, he does not have to pay his employees for either meal breaks. Additionally, although the U.S. Department of Labor does not require employers to provide their employees with rest breaks, employers who provide their employees with discretionary breaks must pay them if their breaks are less than 20 minutes long.