Last verified October 26, 2026 · How we verify
Delaware break laws
Meal and rest break rules for adult hourly workers in Delaware, what federal law adds, teen work limits and overtime. Check your own shift below.
Meal and rest break rules for adult hourly workers in Delaware, what federal law adds, teen work limits and overtime. Check your own shift below.
Delaware requires a 30-minute meal break for 7.5 or more consecutive hours, but no rest breaks. Short breaks your employer gives must be paid under federal law. Overtime is due after 40 hours in a workweek, the federal rule; there is no daily overtime.
An unpaid meal break of at least 30 consecutive minutes for 7.5 or more consecutive hours, given after the first 2 hours and before the last 2 hours. Exceptions apply.
“An employer must allow an employee an unpaid meal break of at least 30 consecutive minutes, if the employee works 7 1/2 or more consecutive hours.”
Verified October 26, 2026 · Source: Delaware Code, Title 19, § 707 Meal breaks
No state law requires rest breaks for adult private-sector employees (not listed in the U.S. DOL state table). Rules for minors may differ.
“States not listed do not require paid rest periods.”
Verified October 26, 2026 · Source: U.S. DOL, Minimum Paid Rest Period Requirements under State Law for Adult Employees in Private Sector (table last revised January 1, 2023)
Delaware has no daily overtime rule. Overtime follows federal law: 1.5 times your regular rate for hours over 40 in a workweek. The US Labor Department's state table lists no Delaware overtime premium.
“The State adopts the federal minimum wage rate by reference if the federal rate is greater than the State rate.”
Verified October 26, 2026 · Source: US DOL, State Minimum Wage Laws
Federal law does not require meal or rest breaks. Short breaks (about 5 to 20 minutes) that an employer gives count as paid work time; meal periods of 30 minutes or more can be unpaid if the employee is completely relieved of duty. More on the federal rules.
Nursing employees also have a federal right to reasonable unpaid break time and a private place, not a bathroom, to pump breast milk for one year after the birth. What the federal pump-break rule covers.
How the rules above apply to four typical shifts. Hours worked exclude the unpaid lunch.
| Shift | Meal break | Rest breaks | Overtime |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6-hour shift, no break | Not required for this shift | Not required by Delaware law | Counted by the week: hours over 40 in the workweek |
| 8-hour shift, 30-min lunch | 30 min (7.5 or more hours) | Not required by Delaware law | Counted by the week: hours over 40 in the workweek |
| 10-hour shift, 30-min lunch | 30 min (7.5 or more hours) | Not required by Delaware law | Counted by the week: hours over 40 in the workweek |
| 12-hour shift, 30-min lunch | 30 min (7.5 or more hours) | Not required by Delaware law | Counted by the week: hours over 40 in the workweek |
Rules for adult, non-exempt private-sector workers. Industry orders, union contracts, local laws and exemptions can change the answer. General reference, not legal advice.
Teen workers in Delaware have limits on how long and how late they can work. Where the Delaware and federal limits differ, the stricter one applies. Delaware is also one of 33 states with a separate meal-break rule for minors; when a teen is covered by both the adult and the minor rule, the employer must follow the higher standard (U.S. DOL). Ask the Delaware labor department for its details.
| Age | Hour limits | Can't work between |
|---|---|---|
| Under 16 (Delaware) | Non-school days and weeks: up to 8 hours a day and 40 a week, 6 days a week School days and weeks: up to 4 hours a day and 18 a week, 6 days a week | 7 p.m. (9 p.m. June 1 through Labor Day) to 7 a.m. |
| 16 and 17 (Delaware) | 12 | 8 consecutive hours of non-work, non-school time required in each 24-hour day. |
| Under 16 (federal) | Non-school days and weeks: up to 8 hours a day and 40 a week School days and weeks: up to 3 hours a day and 18 a week | 7 p.m. (9 p.m. June 1 through Labor Day) to 7 a.m. |
| 16 and 17 (federal) | No hour limits | No night limits |
Verified October 26, 2026 · Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Selected State Child Labor Standards Affecting Minors Under 18 in Non-farm Employment, as of July 15, 2025. School-day limits usually apply only to students.
If you are denied breaks that Delaware law requires, or not paid for time you worked, you can complain to the state. Unpaid wage complaints go to the Delaware Department of Labor's Office of Labor Law Enforcement in the Division of Industrial Affairs. A lawsuit to recover unpaid wages must be filed within 2 years. Official page ↗ Verified October 26, 2026
You can also call the federal Wage and Hour Division free at 1-866-487-9243. Firing or punishing you for a wage complaint is illegal.
Employers with more than 3 employees must give you a statement each payday, on paper or electronically, showing wages due, the pay period and each deduction. Hourly workers' statements must also show total hours worked. Source ↗ Verified October 26, 2026
Paid break time counts as hours worked, at no less than Delaware's minimum wage of $15.00 an hour. Delaware minimum wage details ↗ Keep your own record to compare: the time card calculator totals your week with Delaware's rules and saves a PDF.
| State | Meal break | Rest breaks | Overtime |
|---|---|---|---|
| Delaware | A 30-minute meal break for 7.5 or more consecutive hours | None required | Weekly, 40 h |
| Maryland | Meal breaks only in large retail stores (15 minutes for 4 to 6 hours, 30 minutes over 6) | None required | Weekly, 40 h |
| New Jersey | None required | None required | Weekly, 40 h |
| Pennsylvania | None required | None required | Weekly, 40 h |
See all 50 states and DC.
Every rule on this page was checked against the official source below; the quotes are verbatim and were found in the source on the date shown next to each rule. This page was last verified on October 26, 2026, the oldest of those dates. How we verify.