['Wage and Hour']
['Breaks and Meal Periods']
07/17/2024
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Summary of differences between federal and state regulations
Breaks
Federal law does not require employers to provide rest periods or coffee/snack breaks. However, if employers choose to offer short breaks, breaks lasting 20 minutes or less must be considered work time and employees are paid for the time.
District of Columbia does not address breaks for most employees. However, mothers who are breastfeeding a child, or who need to express breast milk, do have rights to breaks.
Lactation accommodations
Federal law requires employers to provide reasonable break time for an employee to express breast milk for one year after her child’s birth. The employer must provide a room or location for the employee to use, other than a bathroom, that is shielded from view and free from intrusion by coworkers and the public.
Under DC law, a woman has the right to breastfeed her child in any location, public or private, where she has the right to be with her child. The D.C. Protecting Pregnant Workers Fairness Act of 2014 also requires accommodations that do not cause an undue hardship when an employee’s ability to perform the job functions are affected by pregnancy, childbirth, a related medical condition, or breastfeeding. Accommodations can include more frequent or longer breaks and providing private non-bathroom space for expressing breast milk.
An employer must provide reasonable daily unpaid break periods, as required by the employee, so that the employee may express breast milk for her child to maintain milk supply and comfort. If any break period, paid or unpaid, is already provided to the employee, the break period required shall run concurrently with the break periods already provided. An employer is not required to provide break periods if it would create an undue hardship on the operations of the employer.
An employer must make reasonable efforts to provide a sanitary room or other location in close proximity to the work area, other than a bathroom or toilet stall, where an employee can express breast milk in privacy and security. The location may include a childcare facility in close proximity to the employee’s work location.
Meal periods
Federal law does not require employers to provide meal periods. However, if employers choose to provide one, a meal period of at least 30 minutes may be unpaid as long as employees are completely relieved from duty. If employees are not completely relieved of job duties during the meal period, employees must be paid for that time.
District of Columbia does not address meal periods.
State
Contact
DC Department of Employment Services
Regulations
Child’s Right to Nurse Human Rights Amendment Act of 2007
District of Columbia Code § 2-1402.82. Rights of breastfeeding mothers.
Federal
Contact
The US Department of Labor is the federal agency that monitors hours worked.
Regulations
U.S. labor regulations for hours worked can be found in CFR 29: Part 785 Rest Periods and Meal Periods.
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