Rest and Meal Break Laws In Arizona 

State Laws on Lunch Breaks 

Arizona is one of 30 states that does not have any state labor laws that legally require employers to provide rest or meal breaks to adults employed in the private sector. Other states have more laws in place that help benefit the work force when it comes to rest periods, but Arizona isn’t one of them. For example, the state of Delaware enforces a 30-minute meal break for workers working at least seven and a half consecutive hours a day. As pragmatic as this might seem, federal laws do not enforce meal or rest breaks either.    

Federal Laws on Lunch Breaks 

Many people are not aware the Federal Government does not enforce any laws or regulations that require employers to allow their employees the right to time off to eat a meal or the right to take staggered rest breaks during their day of work. Although these types of breaks are not mandatory under federal labor law, many employers still provide these breaks as a form of formality and policy. Every business owner wants an efficient and positive workplace, which can’t be achieved with energy drained and hungry employees.  

If an employer in the state of Delaware decides to offer his/her employees other breaks besides the 30-minute meal break required by the state, the employer must be in ordinance with Federal laws and rules pertaining to such breaks. Any break of 20 minutes or less is considered part of the workday, therefore, it must be paid- covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Federal Law as allows employers the right to offer his/her employees a meal break of 30 minutes or more with the choice of paying for the breaks or not. The deciding factor whether a break should be paid or not is if the employee was performing any labor related tasks during the time of rest. For example, if a receptionist must answer calls while he/she eats, the break must be paid.