Meal and Rest Periods Law Summaries

Florida's meal and rest period provisions are located in the Florida Statutes at Title XXXI, Chapter 450, Part 1 and at Title XXIII, Chapter 316. For full text of the law, see Wages-Hours 10-44,201 et seq. There are also provisions in the Florida Administrative Code.

The state's breastfeeding rights law is located in the Florida Statutes at Title XXIX, Chapter 383.

WHAT THE EMPLOYER MUST DO

Minors. --Minors 17 years of age or younger must not be employed, permitted, or suffered to work for more than four hours continuously without an interval of at least 30 minutes for a meal period. No period of less than 30 minutes is deemed to interrupt a continuous period of work (Sec. 450.081(4)).

Entertainment industry. --All work hours are exclusive of the meal period. The work hours will be extended by a meal period not longer than one-half hour (Fla AdminCodeAnn, Rule 38H-14.006(5)).

An employer must set the minor's dismissal on the last day of the minor's employment so that the minor will have a 12-hour rest period between the end of the employment period and the minor's return to regular school. For example, a minor returning to his or her regular school at 8:30 a.m. must be dismissed from employment by 8:30 p.m. the previous evening (Fla AdminCodeAnn, Rule 38H-14.006(5)).

For a complete summary of Florida's child labor law, see 10-1500 .

Public employers. --The workday for workers in the Department of Children and Family Services Family Supportive Work Program normally includes at least a 30-minute meal period during each workday greater than five hours, except shift employees (Fla AdminCodeAnn, Title 65, Ch. 65-27, 65-27.003).

Department of the Lottery employees must be given a minimum of 30 minutes for a meal period per 10-hour workday (working four 10-hour days per week), or per nine and one-half hour workday (working four and one-half days per week) (Fla AdminCodeAnn, Title 53, Ch. 53-16, 53-16.003).

Department of Management Services employees must be given a minimum of 30 minutes for a meal period per 10-hour workday (working four 10-hour days per week) or per nine and one-half hour workday (working four and one-half days per week) (Fla AdminCodeAnn, Title 60, Ch. 60L, 60L-23.004).

Motor carriers. --A person who operates a commercial motor vehicle solely in interstate commerce (other than in the transportation of hazardous materials requiring placarding pursuant to federal safety regulations) may not drive more than 12 hours following 10 consecutive hours off duty or for a period after the end of the 16th hour after coming on duty following 10 consecutive hours off duty. Further, such motor carriers may not drive after having been on duty more than 70 hours in any period of seven consecutive days or more than 80 hours in any period of eight consecutive days if the motor carrier operates every day of the week. Such workers must have 34 consecutive hours off duty as completion of the seven- or eight-day consecutive workweek. Falsification of time records is subject to a civil penalty of up to $100. Exceptions apply (Sec. 316.302, as amended by Ch. 290 (H. 7079), L. 2006, effective October 1, 2006; and Secs. 316.3025 and 316.3026).

Nursing mothers. --A mother may breastfeed her baby in any location, public or private, where the mother is otherwise authorized to be (Sec. 383.015).

WHO TO CONTACT

Contact the Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR), Customer Contact Center, 1940 North Monroe Street, Tallahassee, FL 32399-1027. For information on child labor, farm labor, or labor organizations (compliance enforcement), call (850) 488-3131.

This is a summary of Meal and Rest Period Laws in Florida.