Rest Breaks
Under Washington law, employees are entitled to:
-
Paid Rest Periods: A paid rest break of at least 10 minutes for every 4 hours worked.
-
Scheduling: Rest breaks should be scheduled as close as possible to the midpoint of the work period.
-
Frequency: Employees cannot be required to work more than 3 consecutive hours without a rest break.
-
On-Site Requirement: Employers may require employees to remain on the premises during rest breaks.
-
Compensation: Rest breaks are considered hours worked and must be compensated accordingly.
Meal Periods
Employees working more than 5 hours in a shift are entitled to:
-
Meal Break: A meal period of at least 30 minutes, starting between the second and fifth hour of the shift.
-
Additional Meal Periods: For shifts extending more than 3 hours beyond the scheduled shift, additional 30-minute meal periods must be provided within 5 hours from the end of the previous meal period.
For certain jobs, mini rest breaks totaling at least 10 minutes over a 4-hour period may be permitted instead of a scheduled rest break.
Paid Meal Periods
Meal periods must be paid if:
- The employee is required to remain on duty.
- The employee is on-call on the premises or work site in the employer’s interest, even if not called back to duty.
- The meal period is interrupted by work duties.
In such cases, the entire meal period is considered hours worked and must be compensated.
Unpaid Meal Periods
Employers are not required to pay for meal breaks if the employee is completely relieved of all duties for the entire 30-minute period.
