Federal & State Regulations | Breaks and meal periods - New Jersey

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.

New Jersey does not address 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.

New Jersey employees may not be fired or otherwise discriminated against for using this benefit during breaks.

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.

New Jersey does not address meal periods.

State

Contact

New Jersey Department of Labor

Regulations

None.

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.

['Wage and Hour']

['Breaks and Meal Periods']

...

Breaks and meal periods - New Jersey