**Understanding Florida Employee Break Regulations: A Detailed Examination**

**What Are the Employee Break Requirements in Florida?**

Florida does not require employers to grant employees breaks. Florida Statute Section 448.110 is a break law that defines a "rest period" as a partial hour break, but provides it only to workers "engaged on the employment of any person." This break law further states, "[T]he required rest period shall be counted as time worked and shall not be deducted from any wages due."
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), however, controls employee breaks under its own wage and hour rules. The FLSA requires employers to grant a paid 30-minute meal or lunch break to employees who work at least 5 consecutive hours. The employee must be completely relieved of all duties during this unpaid meal period to qualify , and employers may not deduct such meal breaks from an employee’s pay if the break is also long enough for the employee to clear out of the work premises.
The U.S. Department of Labor requires, however, that for shorter breaks than a 30-minute meal period, whether paid or unpaid, employers must compensate employees. These shorter periods typically include breaks, rest periods, or snacks, and vary from as short as 5 to as long as 20 minutes. Employers cannot deduct anything from the employee’s compensation for these shorter breaks.
The DOL mandates, for example, that an employee who takes a 20-minute rest period during the course of the work day is entitled to be compensated for this time. But if the employer designates the 20-minute period as part of the employee’s break for a lunchtime snack, the employee can still claim compensation.

**Federal Labor Laws Regarding Employee Breaks**

The federal labor standards also influence Florida law when it comes to employee breaks. Per the Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA"), meal breaks of 30 minutes or more don’t have to be paid so long as "the employee is completely relieved from duty during the entire period" or "[i]f [the] period is less than 30 minutes time spent in waiting is not counted as hours worked." If relieving an employee of duty for the entire period is not possible, the employer is excused from paying for that time so long as the employee isn’t engaged in any type of work during the period. When an employee does have to be paid for break time, it can become pretty complicated. The FLSA states: "Normally, a workweek includes Saturday and Sunday. Such days are normally considered as included within the workweek. However, where the period during which an employee sells newspapers, the period during which an employee is on duty and on an aircraft, or the period during which the employee is returning from work and is working means the period is covered." The FLSA also states that this "would cover such cases as sale of tickets, or preparation for services, or cleaning up after repair work." Rest periods of short duration (18 minutes or less) are counted as work time. But short breaks do not affect overtime calculations, even though they are counted as time worked: Rest periods of short duration, running from 5 minutes to 20 minutes, are common in industry, such as for coffee breaks or time for snacks. These are frequently paid for as compensable hours worked. Authorized office and facility-wide rest periods of short duration are customarily paid for by the employer only when they fall between and for less than the major time periods of the workday. Thus, short rest periods during the first and last half of the day, which are deemed to be merely a convenience to the employer for maintenance of production, will not be counted. Further, an employer can require employees to stay on premises even during meal times. For example, the FLSA has stated that if an employee is required to wait inside a factory until work is available, the time is considered hours worked, and the provision permitting a "complete relief" from duty during meal periods won’t apply (see 29 CFR § 785.19(b)). Additionally, an employer may require employees to remain on premises during meal times to perform light duties, and this is generally found to be "working time." The FLSA’s limitations don’t replace Florida law, but they do help define what constitutes a legal excuse for meal or rest periods. Florida employers with employees subject to the FLSA should understand that federal law provides for only very short rest periods to constitute paid time, and these must be provided when employees are working. Meal periods of less than 30 minutes have to be provided at the employer’s discretion.

**Florida Break Rules for Minors**

The guidelines for meal and rest breaks for child workers are actually much stricter than what is required of adult employees. The Child Labor Law requires that any minor employee under age 18 is to be given two 30-minute breaks every four hours, but not later than the end of the third hour of work. These breaks can be consecutive or nonconsecutive; however, they must be paid.
Deducting break time from a paycheck is generally permissible under state and federal law. However, this does not mean that an employer will not face legal repercussions for illegal pay practices if it fails to provide legally mandated breaks to a minor worker. In fact, the Department of Business and Professional Regulation has a number of enforcement actions on file related to underage workers not getting legally required breaks as it relates to excessive work hours.
Unlike overtime rules, the protections afforded to minors for rest and meal breaks apply regardless of the occupation or industry in which he or she works. This essentially means that these strict requirements can even apply to casual baby sitters, lawn services or pool maintenance workers. While things may not go to such extremes, any employer who willfully violates the state regulations on breaks and rest periods may be referred to the Department of Labor and fined $500 for each violation.

**How Do Florida Employers Administer Breaks?**

The most common practice of Florida employers with no duty to provide particular breaks is to allow employees to take lunch periods (and other breaks) as they naturally find it convenient to do so. In this context, employers often find it convenient to address the potential for excessive "working through breaks" with a company policy. A policy actually pre-setting specific break periods with an amount of time allotted for each period is also acceptable in Florida. Employers are also free to prohibit such practices and charge employees for any time that is actually worked during any period of time that would otherwise be allowed for break time.
Regardless of how an employer chooses to handle breaks, state labor laws ultimately impose an obligation of compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act for any time spent by non-exempt employees on meal or rest breaks, whether specifically addressed in policy or not. When such practices are specifically addressed in company policy, however, claiming any exemption from the payment of wages for any time worked within a time period that deviates from the policy and becomes actual work time must be checked carefully against other company policies referenced in the first one.

**Breaks for Flexible Workplace Arrangements**

Employers must also consider the waves of the gig economy and evolving on-demand workforce that have emerged due to the rise of technology. For example, an Uber driver is likely going to be much more flexible regarding when he or she takes the lunch break than a six sigma business consultant meeting with several clients within the scope of a single day. In such instances, where these workers are not at the office for their entire shift can break management issues arise. For example, if the business consultant has a meeting with his or her first client at 9am , and the last client at 4pm, it would seem likely to be problematic for the employer to require the consultant to take a 30-minute, unpaid lunch break at 2:00pm but still be required to stay in the office for the next two hours. If this could be a particular challenge, an employer may consider implementing guidelines in a personnel policy reiterating the law and providing clear guidelines about the management of work breaks for its on-demand and gig workers to avoid any ambiguity.

**Legal Penalties for Not Adhering to Break Requirements**

Failure to adhere to Florida’s employee break laws can leave employers exposed to serious consequences. Although there is no general state-mandated requirement for breaks and meal periods in the private sector, violating Florida’s child labor law on meal periods can result in costly civil or financial penalties. Employers that willfully violate this law could be subject to a range of fines and penalties, including:
The Florida Department of Labor reports that the state’s child labor law is "one of the most flexible in the country." While its focus is on protecting minors, many companies in Florida have found it’s flexible enough to protect them from liability. Even if the Florida Department of Labor does not initiate an investigation into an employer’s break or meal period policies, an employee may still choose to take individual legal action. Depending upon whether the employee alleges their rights were violated in a class or individual capacity, they may file their lawsuit under federal or state law. While federal law allows an employee to seek unpaid wages (back pay) for up to three years prior to filing their lawsuit, Florida law allows claimants to pursue unpaid wages for up to five years. Damages include not only unpaid wages, but also overtime wages and attorney’s fees.

**Advocacy and Initiatives for Florida Workers**

Employees in Florida who want to learn more about their rights and advocate for the fair enforcement of those rights should look to several organizations and legal avenues:
Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation – The DBPR offers information about workplace regulations in Florida, including those related to breaks. However, it does not enforce employee break laws, so it is not a substitute for the FLSA.
The U.S. Department of Labor – DOL is the main federal agency responsible for enforcing the FLSA. It has specific information about the law , including its breaks provision, on its website.
The National Employment Lawyers Association – NELA is the largest network of lawyers dedicated to protecting and promoting employee rights. The organization offers resources to help employees learn more about the law and whether they need to contact an attorney.
Local Atlanta Bar Association – Miami, Orlando, and other Florida cities have local bar associations that offer resources to help you learn more about employee rights. Check with your local bar association for resources.