Massachusetts Meal and Rest Break Laws (2026)

The rule

	Massachusetts
Meal break	At least 30 minutes for anyone who works more than six hours in a calendar day (M.G.L. c. 149, s. 100)
Unpaid only if	The worker is free of all duties and free to leave the workplace. Requiring staff to stay on the premises makes the break working time
Working through it	If a worker agrees, at the employer's request, to work or stay at the workplace during the break, the time must be paid. Employers may require workers to take their meal breaks
Rest breaks	Not required by state law. Short breaks of about 5 to 20 minutes, if given, count as hours worked under federal rules
Exempt workplaces	Iron works, glass works, paper mills, letterpress establishments, print works, and bleaching or dyeing works. The Attorney General may exempt others with continuous processes (M.G.L. c. 149, s. 101)
Penalty	A fine of $300 to $600 for a violation, enforced by the Attorney General's Fair Labor Division through citations
Day of rest	Manufacturing, mechanical, and mercantile employers must give 24 consecutive hours of rest, including 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., in every seven consecutive days, with listed exceptions (M.G.L. c. 149, s. 48)
Minors	Same 30-minute meal break. 16 and 17 year olds: no more than 9 hours a day, 48 hours a week, or 6 days a week. No one under 18 may work past 8 p.m. without direct, on-site adult supervision

More than six hours, and truly free

The trigger is more than six hours of work in a calendar day. A six-hour shift with no break meets the law; a six-and-a-half-hour shift without a break does not.

The Attorney General's standard for an unpaid break is stricter than the federal one: the worker must be free of all duties and free to leave the workplace. In 2022 the Attorney General cited Family Dollar $1.5 million for more than 3,900 meal break violations after short-staffed stores kept employees on the premises even when they punched out for a break. The office said any requirement to remain on store premises is working time and a violation of the law.

No rest break law, but pay rules still apply

Beyond the meal break, Massachusetts does not require rest or coffee breaks for adults. If you give them, federal rules decide the pay: breaks of about 5 to 20 minutes count as hours worked, must be paid, and count toward the 40-hour overtime line.

Hours limits for minors

Minors get the same meal break as adults, and the Attorney General's combined state and federal limits cap when they can work:

No one under 18 may work past 8 p.m. without direct, on-site adult supervision (except at kiosks in some mall common areas).
16 and 17 year olds: not from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. (10:15 p.m. if the business stops serving customers at 10), with later hours on non-school nights (11:30 p.m., or midnight at restaurants and racetracks). No more than 9 hours a day, 48 hours a week, or 6 days a week.
14 and 15 year olds: not from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. (9 p.m. from July 1 to Labor Day). During the school year, no more than 3 hours on a school day, 18 hours a week, or 8 hours on a weekend day or holiday. When school is out, no more than 8 hours a day, 40 hours a week, or 6 days a week.

Worked example: a 15-person coffee shop

The shop runs three shifts a day with adult baristas and a few 16 and 17 year olds.

An adult opener works 6 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. She works more than six hours, so she is owed a 30-minute meal break. If she is the only barista on the floor and cannot leave, she has not had a break: the 30 minutes must be paid, and because she was required to keep working, the shop has also violated section 100.
A midday barista works 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., exactly six hours. No meal break is required, because the law applies to work of more than six hours.
A 16 year old closes from 2:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. on a school night with a 30-minute break, 6.5 hours of work, so the break is required. Because she works past 8 p.m., an adult supervisor must be on site, and she must be off by 10 p.m.

How to track it

The meal break law turns on two facts: that anyone working more than six hours got 30 minutes, and that the break was real, not a punch-out while still behind the counter. A clocked break is the evidence for the first; staffing is the answer to the second.

ClockOut records meal breaks as their own punches, and admins can set a company-wide break rule (after 6 hours worked, a meal break of at least 30 minutes) so late or missing breaks show up in the manager's exception inbox. Minor-labor and max-hours rules can also be set company-wide. ClockOut cannot tell whether someone was free to leave or whether an adult supervisor was on site after 8 p.m.; the manager has to staff for both and pay for any break the employee could not take freely.

Massachusetts meal and rest breaks FAQ

Does Massachusetts require rest breaks?

No. The only state break requirement for adults is the 30-minute meal break for work of more than six hours in a day. If you give short breaks, federal rules treat breaks of about 5 to 20 minutes as paid time.

Is the meal break paid in Massachusetts?

It can be unpaid if the worker is free of all duties and free to leave the workplace. If the employer asks the worker to work or stay at the workplace during the break, that time must be paid.

Can an employee skip the meal break?

An employee can agree, at the employer's request, to work through it, but the time must be paid. The law says no one may be required to work more than six hours without the break, and employers may require workers to take it.

What is the penalty for a missed meal break in Massachusetts?

Section 100 sets a fine of $300 to $600 for a violation, and the Attorney General's Fair Labor Division enforces it through citations. In 2022 it cited Family Dollar $1.5 million for more than 3,900 meal break violations.

Sources, checked September 23, 2026

This is general information, not legal advice. Rules change; check the linked source.