What Is The Law Regarding Breaks And Meal Periods?
Pennsylvania employers are required to provide break periods of at least 30 minutes for minors ages 14 through 17 who work five or more consecutive hours. Employers are not required to give breaks for employees 18 and over. If your employer allows breaks, and they last less than 20 minutes, you must be paid for the break. If your employer allows meal periods, the employer is not required to pay you for your meal period if you do not work during your meal period and it lasts more than 20 minutes.
An employee who is to work 7 1/2 continuous hours or more shall be provided an unpaid meal period of at least 20 minutes. The meal period must be given to an employee no later than 5 hours after beginning work. Illinois has no law regarding breaks. For more information, click here. 820 ILCS 140/3. Can my employer require me to work seven days in a row? The One Day Rest in Seven Act, as its name implies, allows for at least 24 hours of rest in every calendar week. A calendar week is defined as seven consecutive 24 hour periods starting at 12:01 a.m. Sunday morning and ending at midnight the following Saturday. Under this Act, employers may ask IDOL for a relaxation of this requirement. If IDOL grants a relaxation, it requires a statement from the employer demonstrating that all employees who will be working seven days in a row are in fact volunteers. For more information, click here. 820 ILCS 140/2 and 8 and 56 Ill. Adm. 220.200 – 220.700.
