Last verified October 26, 2026 · How we verify
Minnesota break laws
Meal and rest break rules for adult hourly workers in Minnesota, what federal law adds, teen work limits and overtime. Check your own shift below.
Meal and rest break rules for adult hourly workers in Minnesota, what federal law adds, teen work limits and overtime. Check your own shift below.
Minnesota requires a 30-minute meal break for 6 or more consecutive hours, plus a paid 15-minute rest break in each 4 consecutive hours. Minnesota law requires overtime after 48 hours a week; employers covered by the federal 40-hour rule must follow that instead.
A meal break of at least 30 minutes for 6 or more consecutive hours (amended in 2025). The meal break does not have to be paid.
“An employer must allow each employee who is working for six or more consecutive hours a meal break of at least 30 minutes.”
Verified October 26, 2026 · Source: Minnesota Statutes 177.254
A rest break of at least 15 minutes, or enough time to use the nearest restroom if longer, within each 4 consecutive hours (amended in 2025). Breaks under 20 minutes are paid.
“An employer must allow each employee a rest break of at least 15 minutes or enough time to utilize the nearest convenient restroom”
Verified October 26, 2026 · Source: Minnesota Statutes 177.253
State law requires overtime after 48 hours in a workweek. Many employers are also covered by the federal 40-hour overtime rule, which then applies instead.
“requires employers to pay overtime for all hours worked over 48 per workweek”
Verified October 26, 2026 · Source: Minnesota DLI, Overtime 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 | 30 min (6 or more hours) | 1 × 15 min, paid | Counted by the week: hours over 48 in the workweek |
| 8-hour shift, 30-min lunch | 30 min (6 or more hours) | 2 × 15 min, paid | Counted by the week: hours over 48 in the workweek |
| 10-hour shift, 30-min lunch | 30 min (6 or more hours) | 2 × 15 min, paid | Counted by the week: hours over 48 in the workweek |
| 12-hour shift, 30-min lunch | 30 min (6 or more hours) | 3 × 15 min, paid | Counted by the week: hours over 48 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 Minnesota have limits on how long and how late they can work. Where the Minnesota and federal limits differ, the stricter one applies. Minnesota 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 Minnesota labor department for its details.
| Age | Hour limits | Can't work between |
|---|---|---|
| Under 16 (Minnesota) | Up to 8 hours a day and 40 a week | 9 p.m. to 7 a.m. |
| 16 and 17 (Minnesota) | No state limit listed | 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. before school day (11:30 p.m. to 4:30 a.m. with written parental permission). |
| 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 Minnesota law requires, or not paid for time you worked, you can complain to the state. To file a wage claim, contact the Minnesota DLI Labor Standards division at 651-284-5075 or by email. An investigator should reach out within two business days. 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.
Each pay period you must get an earnings statement showing your pay rate and method, hours worked, gross pay, deductions, net pay, the pay period end date and your employer's legal name, address and phone number. Source ↗ Verified October 26, 2026
Paid break time counts as hours worked, at no less than Minnesota's minimum wage of $11.41 an hour, higher in Minneapolis and St. Paul, rising to $11.87 on January 1, 2027. Minnesota minimum wage details ↗ Keep your own record to compare: the time card calculator totals your week with Minnesota's rules and saves a PDF.
| State | Meal break | Rest breaks | Overtime |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minnesota | A 30-minute meal break for 6 or more consecutive hours | A paid 15-minute rest break in each 4 consecutive hours | 48 h/week |
| Iowa | None required | None required | Weekly, 40 h |
| North Dakota | A 30-minute meal break for shifts over 5 hours when two or more employees are on duty | None required | Weekly, 40 h |
| South Dakota | None required | None required | Weekly, 40 h |
| Wisconsin | 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.