Each state has a different idea of how much break time (if any) an employee is entitled to. For example, the FLSA doesn’t require employers to provide meal or extended rest breaks (as mentioned above), but states can decide individually what they want to do. Less than half of US states (only 20 and two U.S. territories) require companies to provide a meal or rest break. In many of these states, anyone who works over 6 hours consecutively is required 30 minutes to eat or rest. You can click on each state to see what the break regulations are at the end of this article.
For example, in California the break regulations are very long and very detailed. California state law requires multiple breaks for its employees and it can become extremely expensive for employers who don’t adhere to the laws. If an employer fails to provide the required meal periods, they must pay the employee an additional hour of pay for each workday that the meal period was not provided. It’s also possible for an employee to waive a break, but mutual written consent from the employee and the employer is sometimes needed.
Idaho and Kansas, on the other hand, have no meal or break regulations. Some states such as Iowa and Indiana only provide breaks if the employee is a minor (someone who is not yet 18 years old).
Some states (e.g. Wisconsin and New York) have a “one day of rest in seven” rule, meaning that businesses with factories or mercantile establishments are required to provide their employees with a day of rest. This break must be 24 hours long, every calendar week, unless the employee has voluntarily waived the “one day in seven” rest period in writing. There are, however, some exceptions: janitors, those working at hotels or restaurants, those responsible for food production (e.g. cheese and dairy products), those looking after live animals, etc.