Federal Law

• The Fair Labor Standards Act, which the U.S. Department of Labor administers, and which sets federal minimum wage, overtime, child labor and record-keeping laws, does not require employers to give hourly or salaried employees breaks. If an employer decides to give short breaks lasting up to 20 minutes, the act regards the time as paid. If he decides to give meal periods lasting at least 30 minutes, the FLSA regards the time as unpaid.
  
  

State Law

• Many states establish break laws that employers in the state are required to follow. For example, Georgia follows federal law completely, but California has its own rules for breaks. In California, an employer cannot work most nonexempt employees for more than five hours each day without giving them at least a 30-minute lunch break, unless the employee works six hours or less for the day. Most nonexempt employees in California are also entitled to paid 10-minute rest periods for each four hours worked daily.
  
  

Exempt Vs. Nonexempt

• An exempt employee does not qualify for overtime; a nonexempt employee does. Most salaried employees are exempt and the majority of hourly employees are nonexempt. However, a salaried employee can be nonexempt. For example, if she does not meet the requirements for exempt status under the FLSA or state law, she's nonexempt. As in California's case, whether a salaried employee receives breaks depends on her exempt status. Specifically, exempt employees in California are excluded from the state's rest and meal break laws, but nonexempt employees are not.
  
  

Considerations

• The best way for an employer to know if salaried employees get breaks is to contact his state labor department for its requirements. Most employers treat salaried employees the same as hourly employees when it comes to breaks. If company policy is to give two 15-minute breaks and an hour for lunch, it applies to both full-time hourly and salaried employees. Whereas lunch breaks are deducted from an hourly employee's pay, no deduction is usually made from a salaried employee's pay, which generally already includes adjustments for breaks.