Breaks & meal periods · 29 CFR §§ 785.18, 785.19
Teen breaks & meal periods under federal law
Does your teen legally get a lunch break? Under federal law, no — the Fair Labor Standards Act does not require employers to give a meal or rest break to workers of any age. What federal law does control is pay: short rest breaks of 5–20 minutes are paid working time, while a bona fide meal period of 30 minutes or more can be unpaid if the teen is completely relieved from duty. Any required teen break comes from state law, and the stricter rule always wins. Below is every federal break rule at a glance, with the exact CFR citation.
— verified against eCFR + DOL WHD “Breaks and Meal Periods” guidance.
Federal break rule cards
Does federal law require a break?
No. The Fair Labor Standards Act does not require employers to provide a meal break or a rest break to workers of any age — there is no federal lunch break and no federal rest break for teens. In a state with no break law, an employer can legally schedule a teen for a full shift without one. What FLSA controls is whether a break that is given must be paid.
- Federal meal-break requirement
- None — FLSA does not mandate meal breaks
- Federal rest-break requirement
- None — FLSA does not mandate rest breaks
- Any age-specific federal break rule?
- No — no federal break rule targets minors
- Who sets mandatory teen breaks
- State law — see your state page
Note: FLSA regulates whether break time counts as paid work (29 CFR §§ 785.18–785.19) — not whether a break has to be offered in the first place.
Citation
FLSA (29 USC § 201 et seq.); US DOL WHD, “Breaks and Meal Periods”
Short rest breaks (5–20 minutes) are paid
When an employer does give a short break — a 5-to-20-minute coffee, snack, or rest break — federal law treats it as paid working time. It is counted toward the teen's hours worked and toward overtime, and pay cannot be docked for it. This is true regardless of the teen's age.
- Typical length
- 5 to 20 minutes
- Paid?
- Yes — counted as hours worked
- Counts toward overtime?
- Yes
- Can pay be docked for it?
- No — short breaks are compensable
Citation
29 CFR § 785.18
Meal periods (30+ minutes) can be unpaid
A bona fide meal period — ordinarily 30 minutes or longer — is not working time and does not have to be paid, as long as the teen is completely relieved from duty to eat. Breaks shorter than 30 minutes are generally too short to qualify as an unpaid meal and are treated as paid rest breaks instead.
- Typical length
- 30 minutes or more
- Paid?
- No — if the worker is fully relieved from duty
- Under 30 minutes
- Usually not a bona fide meal period (special cases aside)
- Condition to be unpaid
- Employee completely relieved from all duties
Note: A meal period is not automatically unpaid just because the schedule calls it “lunch.” If the teen keeps working, the time stays on the clock.
Citation
29 CFR § 785.19
The “completely relieved from duty” test
The single federal test for whether a meal break can be unpaid is whether the worker is freed from all duties during it. A cashier told to watch the register while eating, or a crew member who must answer the phone, is not relieved — so that meal must be paid even when it is called a lunch break.
- Relieved of all duties
- Meal may be unpaid
- Must stay at a post / answer calls
- Meal must be paid
- “Working lunch” at the station
- Paid — duties continue
- Auto-deducted lunch but worked through it
- Must be paid — report to DOL WHD
Note: Auto-deducting 30 minutes for a meal the teen actually worked through is a common wage violation. Hours worked must be paid no matter what the timesheet says.
Citation
29 CFR § 785.19(a)
Mandatory teen breaks come from state law
Because federal law is silent, any required teen break comes entirely from state labor codes. A common pattern is a 30-minute meal break after roughly 5 consecutive hours of work, sometimes paired with a short paid rest break — but the trigger hours, length, and pay treatment differ by state, and several states have no break law at all.
- Source of the rule
- State labor code / state DOL — not FLSA
- Common meal-break pattern
- 30 min after ~5 consecutive hours (varies by state)
- Stricter for minors?
- Several states apply tighter break rules to under-18 workers
- States with no break law
- Federal floor applies — no break is required
Note: Teenwork does not publish a fabricated break figure for every state — only cited, verified state rules. Use the state page or your state labor department for the binding number.
Citation
State labor codes (verify with your state DOL)
Which rule wins — federal or state?
The stricter rule always applies. Federal law requires no break, so any state that requires one is stricter and binding. Where a state is silent, the federal floor — no required break — governs. This is the same conflict rule that runs through the rest of teen labor law.
- Default conflict rule
- Stricter law applies (29 USC § 218(a))
- State requires a meal break
- Binding — federal does not preempt it
- State silent on breaks
- No required break (federal floor)
- Pay treatment of any break given
- 29 CFR § 785.18 / § 785.19 still control paid vs unpaid
Citation
29 USC § 218(a); 29 CFR §§ 785.18–785.19
Frequently asked questions
- Does my teen legally get a lunch break?
- Under federal law, no — the FLSA does not require employers to give a meal or rest break to workers of any age. Whether your teen is entitled to a lunch break depends entirely on the state where they work. Many states require a 30-minute meal break after about five consecutive hours, but several have no break law at all. Check your state page for the binding rule.
- Are short breaks paid?
- Yes. When an employer offers a short rest break — roughly 5 to 20 minutes — federal law (29 CFR § 785.18) treats it as paid working time. It counts toward the teen's hours worked and cannot be deducted from their pay.
- Does a 30-minute lunch break have to be paid?
- No, provided the teen is completely relieved from duty during the meal. A bona fide meal period of 30 minutes or more (29 CFR § 785.19) is unpaid time. But if the teen has to keep working — watch the register, answer the phone, stay at a station — the meal is not bona fide and must be paid.
- Can an employer make a 16-year-old work eight hours with no break?
- Under federal law alone, yes — there is no federal break requirement at any age, and the FLSA sets no daily hour cap on 16- and 17-year-olds. Many states, however, require a meal break after a set number of consecutive hours for minors, and some cap a minor's daily hours. The state rule is binding wherever it is stricter.
- What if my teen works through an unpaid lunch break?
- They must be paid for that time. An unpaid meal period is only valid when the worker is completely relieved from duty. If an employer automatically deducts 30 minutes for lunch but the teen actually worked, that time counts as hours worked and must be paid. Unpaid worked time can be reported to the US DOL Wage and Hour Division at 1-866-487-9243.
- Which states require breaks for minors?
- Many states require a meal break for minors — frequently 30 minutes after about five consecutive hours — and some add paid rest breaks, but the specifics vary widely and a number of states have no break law. Rather than rely on a generic figure, confirm the exact rule on your state's Teenwork page or with your state labor department before counting on a break.