New York meal break law: the noon rule, the 45-minute evening shift and the spread of hours

The short answer

New York does not require rest breaks, but it is one of the few states with a statutory meal period, and the rule depends on when the shift falls, not only on how long it is. Labor Law section 162, for employees outside factories:

• A shift of more than 6 hours that extends over the noon period (11:00 to 14:00) requires a meal period of at least 30 minutes taken between 11:00 and 14:00.
• A shift that starts before 11:00 and continues past 19:00 requires an additional 20 minutes between 17:00 and 19:00.
• A shift of more than 6 hours that starts between 13:00 and 6:00 requires a meal period of at least 45 minutes, taken midway through the shift.

Factory employees get 60 minutes instead of 30 or 45. The Department of Labor's guidance and the statute are on dol.ny.gov. The meal period does not have to be paid if the employee is completely relieved of duty. Short breaks, if you give them, follow the federal rule: 20 minutes or less is paid time.

Reading section 162 for a store or a restaurant

The statute was written for a world of noonday meals, so it helps to translate it into shifts:

Shift	Meal period due
9:00 to 15:30 (6h30, over noon)	30 minutes between 11:00 and 14:00
9:00 to 15:00 (exactly 6h)	None: the shift is not more than 6 hours
10:00 to 20:00	30 minutes between 11:00 and 14:00, plus 20 minutes between 17:00 and 19:00
14:00 to 22:00 (8h, starts after 13:00)	45 minutes, around 18:00
16:00 to 21:30 (5h30)	None

The Department permits a shorter meal period of not less than 30 minutes as a matter of course, without an application, where 45 or 60 would otherwise apply and there is no hardship to employees; anything shorter, never under 20 minutes, needs a special permit. The safe schedule gives the full statutory time.

One exception matters for small shops: the one-employee shift. Where a single person is on duty and it is customary to eat on the job, the Department accepts an interrupted meal period if the employee has agreed to it in advance, preferably in writing, after being told the meal may be interrupted. Silence is not consent, and time worked through the meal is paid time.

New York also has a one day of rest in seven rule (section 161) for mercantile establishments, restaurants and hotels among others: at least 24 consecutive hours off in each calendar week. A six-day week is fine; seven days is not, whatever the hours.

The rules that cost more than the break

Three New York rules change the economics of a schedule more than the meal period does. They come from the wage orders, principally the Hospitality Industry Wage Order (restaurants and hotels) and the Miscellaneous Industries Wage Order (which covers retail).

Spread of hours. When the span between the start and the end of the workday exceeds 10 hours, including breaks and any gap between split shifts, the employee is owed one extra hour at the basic minimum wage. In hospitality it applies to every non-exempt employee. In retail it applies to employees paid at or near the minimum wage: if the week's wages already exceed the minimum wage by more than the spread payment, nothing extra is due. A 10:00 to 20:30 shift with a long break in the middle triggers it.

Call-in pay. An employee who reports to work as scheduled and is sent home early is owed a minimum: in hospitality, 3 hours at the minimum wage (or the scheduled shift if shorter); in retail and other miscellaneous industries, 4 hours or the regularly scheduled shift, whichever is less. Cutting a quiet afternoon short has a floor.

New York City's Fair Workweek law. For fast food employers in the city: schedules 14 days in advance, premiums of 10 to 75 dollars for changes, no clopenings without consent and an extra 100 dollars, and just-cause protection against dismissal. For retail employers in the city with 20 or more employees: 72 hours' notice of the schedule, no on-call shifts, no cancelling or adding shifts inside the 72 hours without written consent. The city's Department of Consumer and Worker Protection enforces it; see fair workweek laws for how the notice rules work in practice.

Building a New York schedule that holds

1. Place the meal period by the clock, not by the hour count. In New York the question is "does this shift cross noon, or run past 7pm, or start after 1pm?" Put the 30, 20 or 45 minutes at the right time of day inside the shift, with a start and an end.
2. Watch the spread. A split shift or a long unpaid break stretches the workday. If the first clock-in and the last clock-out are more than 10 hours apart, the extra hour is owed in hospitality and possibly in retail. The schedule should show the spread, not just the hours worked.
3. Have people clock out for the unpaid meal. It is the only record that the 30 minutes were actually taken and that payroll was right to deduct them. If someone worked through, pay the time.
4. In the city, publish early and change late only with consent. 72 hours for retail, 14 days for fast food, and keep the written consents.

Squadra puts the break inside each shift with its own time, records unpaid meal periods as a clock-out and clock-in, and shows the span of each day so a 10 hour spread is visible before the schedule is sent. Free up to 10 employees: see the pricing.

For the federal floor and how other states differ: break laws in the US. For the strictest state in the country, California meal and rest breaks.