Federal Law

• Under federal law, employers are not required to provide their employees with rest or lunch breaks. The Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor administers the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. According to the Fair Labor Standards Act, unless state laws require employers to provide their employees with mandatory rest or lunch breaks, employers have the discretion in allowing their employees to take work breaks.
  
  

State Laws

• Although the federal Fair Labor Standards Act does not require employers to provide their employees with lunch or rest breaks, they may have to provide them if their employees are parties to collective bargaining agreements that require breaks. Furthermore, in states that mandate employment breaks, employers must comply with their state's break laws. Employers must also pay their employees in limited circumstances if they voluntarily enact rest or lunch break policies allowing their employees to exercise them. According to the Fair Labor Standards Act, employers must pay their employees for any discretionary rest breaks that are less than 20 minutes long. Employers are also required to pay their employees for meal breaks that are less than 30 minutes long.
  
  

Rest or Lunch Breaks

• Florida does not require employers to provide their employees with rest or lunch breaks unless they hire employees who are under 18. Employers must give their employees under 18 years old at least one 30-minute meal or lunch breaks if they work four or more consecutive hours. Employers who violate the Florida child labor laws face criminal and civil penalties. Under Florida law, employers who violate the child labor laws can receive fines of up to $2,500 for each offense and face a criminal second-degree misdemeanor charge.
  
  

Paid Breaks

• Although Florida employers must allow minors to exercise a meal or rest break of at least 30 minutes, they do not have to pay them for their breaks. Since Florida law requires employers to provide their employees with at least one 30-minute break, the break does not meet the federal thresholds for payable breaks.