A minimum rest period is the shortest break a law or policy allows, either within a shift or between two shifts. Federal law sets neither for adults; some states and cities do.
| Rest break within a shift | Rest between shifts | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A short break during working time | Time off between one shift’s end and the next shift’s start |
| Federal rule for adults | None required. Short breaks that are given are generally paid. | None |
| Where rules exist | Some states, such as California, Colorado, Kentucky, Minnesota, Nevada, Oregon and Washington | Some cities and states with fair workweek or predictive scheduling laws |
| Typical rule | A paid 10-minute break for each 4 hours worked | Premium pay if the gap is shorter than a set number of hours |
The two are often confused in the same conversation, so name which one you mean. A rest break is a break inside the shift; a gap that is too short between a closing and an opening shift is the “clopening” problem.
EZTime labor rule alerts flag overtime and missed rest periods before payroll.
Seattle’s Secure Scheduling Ordinance covers hourly employees at retail and food service establishments with 500 or more employees worldwide, and full-service restaurants with 500 or more employees and 40 or more full-service locations worldwide. Under it, employers pay time-and-a-half for hours worked between closing and opening shifts that are separated by less than 10 hours.
Other cities and some states have their own versions, with different gaps, premiums and covered industries. Check the predictive scheduling laws guide for the rules where you operate.
A shift lead at a covered Seattle coffee chain closes on Friday, clocking out at 11:00 p.m., and is scheduled to open Saturday at 7:00 a.m. The gap is 8 hours, less than the 10-hour minimum. The hours worked between 7:00 and 9:00 a.m. fall inside the 10 hours after the close, so they are the hours at risk of the time-and-a-half premium. If the premium applies, at $24 an hour those 2 hours cost $72 instead of $48.
The simpler fix is in the schedule: start the opening shift at 9:00 a.m., or give the open to someone who did not close. EZTime can alert you when a schedule leaves less rest between shifts than the rule you set, before the schedule is published.
Rest rules exist because tired workers make mistakes and get hurt. A schedule that leaves people 7 hours between a close and an open is rarely worth what it saves.
A covered Seattle retailer approves a swap without noticing that it leaves a cashier 9 hours between a Friday close and a Saturday open.
The cashier works the shift, and the store pays the premium the ordinance requires for the hours inside the 10-hour window. The manager then sets the swap process to check the gap before approval, so the next swap that would create a short rest is caught before anyone works it.
No. Federal law does not set a minimum rest period between shifts for adults in most jobs. Some states and cities do, often as part of predictive scheduling laws, and some industries have their own hours-of-service rules.
Where laws exist, they commonly use 10 or 11 hours. Seattle’s rule, for covered employers, is 10 hours. Many employers set their own minimum even where no law requires it.
According to the US Department of Labor’s state table, states including California, Colorado, Kentucky, Minnesota, Nevada, Oregon and Washington require rest periods for adults, with narrower rules in a few others. See meal and rest break laws by state.
Short rest breaks are generally paid. A bona fide meal period, where the employee is fully relieved of duty, can usually be unpaid. See bona fide meal period.
Working a closing shift followed by an opening shift with little time in between. Some city fair workweek laws require premium pay when the gap is too short.
Yes. Federal child labor rules limit the hours and times of day 14 and 15 year olds can work, and many states add rules for minors.
Approved hours, breaks and missed-punch corrections come together in signed reports, ready to export to PDF or Excel.