• Michigan labor law does not mandate work breaks for adult workers.construction workers image by Vadimone from Fotolia.com
  
  Michigan labor law prescribes mandatory work breaks for workers between 14 and 17 years of age. Although Michigan has no laws mandating work breaks for workers 18 years of age or older, federal law does provide guidelines concerning how many breaks adult workers take and how the breaks should be factored into their pay.
  
  

Young Workers

• Michigan labor law mandates a work break for workers between 14 and 17 years of age. According to the Michigan Department of Energy, Labor, and Economic Growth (DELEG), workers between 14 and 17 years old cannot work more than 5 consecutive hours without a 30-minute rest period. The employees cannot be required to perform any work task during that 30-minute period, not even "simple" tasks such as answering phones. Instead, the 30-minute rest period must be entirely the employee's own time.
  
  

Adult Workers

• According to the Labor Law Center, Michigan law does not mandate any kind of rest period for workers 18 and older. However, federal law offers some guidance as to how any work breaks that are given to adults should be considered. Generally, a work break of 20 minutes or less should be considered paid time. A work break of 30 minutes or more, such as a "lunch break," does not have to be paid time unless the employee is expected to do some work-related activity or be present at work during that time.
  
  

Waiting and Sleeping Breaks

• Although Michigan law does not dictate how employers should calculate wages for waiting and sleeping times, the U.S. Department of Labor offers some guidance. Generally, waiting time must be considered paid time if the employee is expected to be present at the workplace. If an employee is allowed to sleep during a 24-hour shift, the employer does not have to pay for the sleeping time as long as the employer provides sleeping facilities, the sleep period consists of at least eight consecutive hours, and the employee will be able to gain at least five hours of uninterrupted sleep during that time.