Does federal law, New York law or New York City mandate a lunch break for employees?
Yes under New York State law in specified circumstances; no under federal law. New York City generally has no separate, broader lunch-break mandate: employees working in the city are covered by the statewide meal-period requirements.
Federal law
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) does not require employers to provide meal or lunch breaks. If an employer provides a short break, generally 5 to 20 minutes, it must be paid; a bona fide meal period is generally unpaid only if the employee is completely relieved of duties.[2][3]
“The employee must be completely relieved from duty for the purposes of eating regular meals.”
An employee generally may be required to remain on the premises during a bona fide meal period, provided the employee is otherwise completely freed from work duties.[1]
New York State law
New York Labor Law § 162 requires meal periods for covered employees based on the type of work and the shift. The principal requirements are:[6]
| Work and shift circumstances | Required meal period |
|---|---|
| Nonfactory employee whose shift is more than six hours and extends over 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. | At least 30 minutes during that period |
| Factory employee working in or in connection with a factory | At least 60 minutes for the midday meal |
| Shift starts between 1:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m., lasts more than six hours | At least 45 minutes midway through the shift for nonfactory work; 60 minutes for factory work |
| Shift starts before 11:00 a.m. and continues after 7:00 p.m. | An additional meal period of at least 20 minutes between 5:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. |
“An employee who works a shift of more than six hours which extends over the noon day meal period is entitled to at least thirty minutes off within that period for the meal period.”
The New York State Department of Labor says these requirements generally cover private- and public-sector employees working in New York, subject to the statutory categories and any applicable exception or shorter-meal-period permit.[4][5] A meal period that satisfies the applicable requirements is generally unpaid. If the employee must work or remain on duty during it, the time may not qualify as a meal period and may be compensable under federal law.[7]
New York City
The cited authorities establish a New York State requirement, not a separate New York City lunch-break requirement. Thus, for employees working in New York City, the relevant general mandate is New York Labor Law § 162. Whether it applies to a particular employee depends on the employee’s work, shift length and timing, and any applicable permit or recognized exception.