Last verified October 26, 2026 · How we verify
Maine break laws
Meal and rest break rules for adult hourly workers in Maine, what federal law adds, teen work limits and overtime. Check your own shift below.
Meal and rest break rules for adult hourly workers in Maine, what federal law adds, teen work limits and overtime. Check your own shift below.
Maine requires a 30-minute break after 6 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; there is no daily overtime.
An opportunity to take at least 30 consecutive minutes of rest time after 6 consecutive hours, unless a written agreement says otherwise. Exceptions for emergencies and small crews.
“the employee is given the opportunity to take at least 30 consecutive minutes of rest time”
Verified October 26, 2026 · Source: Maine Revised Statutes, Title 26, § 601
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)
Unless your job is exempt, you get time and a half for hours over 40 in a workweek. Private-sector employers cannot give you comp time instead of overtime pay.
“Unless specifically exempted, employees must receive overtime pay for hours worked in excess of 40 in a workweek”
Verified October 26, 2026 · Source: Maine Department of Labor, 2027 Minimum Wage poster
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 Maine law | Counted by the week: hours over 40 in the workweek |
| 8-hour shift, 30-min lunch | 30 min (more than 6 hours) | Not required by Maine law | Counted by the week: hours over 40 in the workweek |
| 10-hour shift, 30-min lunch | 30 min (more than 6 hours) | Not required by Maine law | Counted by the week: hours over 40 in the workweek |
| 12-hour shift, 30-min lunch | 30 min (more than 6 hours) | Not required by Maine 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 Maine have limits on how long and how late they can work. Where the Maine and federal limits differ, the stricter one applies. Maine is not among the 33 states that the U.S. Department of Labor lists as having a separate meal-break rule for minors.
| Age | Hour limits | Can't work between |
|---|---|---|
| Under 16 (Maine) | 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 3 hours a day and 18 a week, 6 days a week | 7 p.m. (9 p.m. during summer vacation) to 7 a.m. |
| 16 and 17 (Maine) | If enrolled in school: Non-school days and weeks: up to 10 hours a day and 50 a week, 6 days a week 6 (except 8 on last scheduled day of school week)- 24-6 school day/week | If enrolled in school: 10:15 p.m. (12 a.m. before non-school day) to 7 a.m. on day the minor’s school is in session, and to 5 a.m. otherwise. |
| 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. In the DOL's shorthand, “8-40” means 8 hours a day and 40 a week; a third number is days a week.
If you are denied breaks that Maine law requires, or not paid for time you worked, you can complain to the state. File a complaint online with the Maine Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division for unpaid final pay, minimum wage, overtime, vacation pay or earned paid leave. Its page does not state a filing deadline. 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.
With each paycheck, your employer must give you a statement showing the pay period dates, your hours, your total earnings and each deduction itemized. Source ↗ Verified October 26, 2026
Paid break time counts as hours worked, at no less than Maine's minimum wage of $15.10 an hour, higher in Portland and Bangor, rising to $15.70 on January 1, 2027. Maine minimum wage details ↗ Keep your own record to compare: the time card calculator totals your week with Maine's rules and saves a PDF.
| State | Meal break | Rest breaks | Overtime |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maine | A 30-minute break after 6 consecutive hours | None required | Weekly, 40 h |
| New Hampshire | A 30-minute meal break after 5 consecutive hours | 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.