The Basics of Florida’s Break Laws: Do Employers Need to Provide Rest Periods?

Florida Labor Law Break Requirements

Florida requires employers to provide their workers with one 30-minute break for every four hours of work. Here, have a look at this law: (2) Rest periods. A paid rest period not to exceed 15 minutes for each 4 hours worked or major fraction thereof shall be permitted. The rest period shall be scheduled as far as practicable at a time which does not interfere with the work processes or efficiency. (3) Meal periods. Meal periods may not be counted as hours worked. Meal periods may be scheduled during the work day only when a definite break in the work is planned. A lunch period should be scheduled at no less than 4-hour intervals. Rule 5L-1.0101(2)-(3). However, the Department of Economic Opportunity (the agency that actually administers Florida’s wage and hour laws) cautions that "an employer is not required by law to provide an employee with a meal or break period. Of course, if an employer chooses […] to establish meal or break periods, the provisions of the law must be followed." See Employment Law Guidance, at FL Statute Guide: Rest Periods. So, if you maintain a regular practice or policy of providing employees with time off, then you must do so consistent with the law . However, if you do not have such a practice or policy, then Florida law will not require you to provide either. In that regard, Florida differs from Federal law. However, if you provide workers with rest breaks, then any break shorter than 20 minutes must typically be paid. See Wage & Hour Div., Op. Ltr., FLSA2019-22, at 2 (August 23, 2019) ("[A]n employer must generally pay for rest breaks of short duration (i.e. less than 20 minutes, although the Department does not specify the maximum duration) because they are considered ‘hours worked.’"); id., at 3-5; see also Fact Sheet #22: Hours Worked Under the FLSA – Workers with Impairments; 29 C.F.R. § 785.18 (stating that brief non-compensable periods may include "coffee breaks or rest periods of short duration, running from 5 minutes to about 20 minutes on the job as a regular part of the work day, which may be customarily authorized or which must be reasonably intrinsic to the performance of the work." If your breaks are of such duration, "they would normally be considered a part of the workday and thus be compensable as overtime, unless specifically excluded by an applicable statute or regulation.").

Federal Law on Breaks and Its Impact

While federal laws do not require rest periods, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) does provide some guidelines. The FLSA does not require an employer to provide paid or unpaid rest breaks for employees. However, if provided, it must be included as hours worked. The FLSA stresses the importance of the intent of the break. Are the employees fully relieved from their duties for at least 20 minutes? If so, the FLSA instructs that the breaks do not count as hours worked. Further, all rest periods that are less than 20 minutes should be counted as hours worked. In contrast, as stated above, Florida law requires an employer to provide non-exempt employees with rest periods and meals, similar to the federal government. But as with the federal government, there is no law in Florida that mandates a meal period.

Break Laws for Specific Industry in Florida

While the FLSA’s general guideline of "breaks are not required" is applicable to the State of Florida, some industries may be governed, either directly or indirectly, by specific requirements to provide breaks to employees.
The hospitality industry is one of the few industry sectors that is subject to state laws, in this case, the Florida Hospitality Protection Act. The statute requires that hourly hotel, motels, and food service establishments provide breaks for its employees after every four hours of work (the same rule that applies generally to businesses within the state). Further, the Act requires that if a business has a tipping policy, it shall provide employees who receive tips breaks at "suitable" intervals. The statute does not define what constitutes an appropriate break for hospitality employees, nor does it make any explicit reference to the duration of the break.
Florida’s municipal and county governments may also impose additional restrictions on businesses in their areas. The City of Miami, Florida, for example, goes one step further than Florida state law by requiring that employers provide both 10-minute and 30-minute breaks to its hourly employees. In order to be compliant with federal and Florida laws addressing breaks, employers would be well served to include information on required break time within their employee handbooks, and vigorously train and educate supervisory staff on compliance with those policies.

Employer Best Practices for Breaks

Under both the federal Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA") and Florida law, employers are not under any obligation to provide breaks to employees. However, it is a good practice to provide such breaks, if possible. Although employees are not entitled to a "lunch period," we have found that for morale purposes and to reduce the risk of litigation, it may be advisable to authorize one. Here are some best practices for breaks:
Even if you do not provide meal breaks or snacks, you should have a written policy in place notifying employees of their eligibility to take a meal break, if applicable, and when such breaks may be taken . Any meal policy should also discourage working during meals with an explicit note that this time will not be paid. When a meal break is provided, the employer should require its employees to clock out if they work during the unpaid time.
The employer’s employee policies and procedures should detail its procedures regarding breaks and the consequences for an employee who fails to take a break. Pre-approval of the break(s) should be required and if working during the break occurs the time should be compensated.

Employee Rights and Court Action

As previously stated, breaks must be paid or they could be considered work time. However, payments are not due if the employee is not used to perform work during the break. Additionally, employees may be totally free to use and spend their time as they please. Employees should be mindful that only specific persons can alter a company rule or policy. Uniformity is a requisite for companies, so any change to a uniform work schedule, including the waiver of a formal break, is not usually acceptable.
Please be aware that, when taking a much-needed break, you do not have to accept any harassment or bullying, work-related or not, from your employer or supervisor. Otherwise, you could be working even harder than usual during your breaks. If you experience unreasonable treatment during a break, consult an attorney.
Suppose you believe you are owed pay for off-the-clock work or unpaid break time. In that case, you may be able to file a claim with the Department of Labor or retain legal counsel to assist you. An attorney can help you file a lawsuit or a grievance with state or federal agencies responsible for regulating such claims.

Break Laws in Other States

Apart from the federal requirements discussed above, Florida is among the majority of states that do not require employers to provide breaks to their employees. However, there are several states that do have mandatory break laws in place. For example, California, Colorado, Kentucky, and Maryland require employers to provide meal periods and rest breaks to their employees. In fact, California has very specific meal and rest period rules, which apply to non-exempt adult employees over age 18. For example, California law dictates that a 30-minute meal period must be provided if an employee works for more than five hours on a given day. If the employee works for more than ten hours, his or her employer must provide a second, seven-to-30-minute meal period, unless the employee only works as long as six hours on that day. A second meal period is not required if the first meal period was waived by the employee and the employee’s total hours worked are less than 12. If California employers fail to provide these meal periods , their employees may recover one hour of pay at their regular rate of pay for each workday on which the meal period was not provided.
Colorado’s Mandatory Rest Periods Rules requires that employees be provided with work breaks for at least ten consecutive minutes for each four hours worked. Likewise, standard break laws in Kentucky and Maryland require all employers to permit employees to take short rest breaks (five to 20 minutes) during working hours, which must be considered time worked. Of course, what these requirements mean in practice varies by state and industry.
Given Florida’s stance with regard to mandatory breaks, I will be following a few pertinent cases pertaining to this issue and will keep you posted with other break-related developments in the coming months.