Oregon Meal and Rest Break Laws (2026)

The rule

	Oregon
Meal period	30 continuous minutes, unpaid, relieved of all duties, for a work period of 6 hours or more. None required under 6 hours
Meal timing	Work period of 7 hours or less: taken after the second hour and finished before the fifth hour begins. Over 7 hours: taken after the third hour and finished before the sixth hour begins
Second meal period	Required for work periods of 14 hours or more
Rest periods	10 continuous minutes, paid, for each 4 hours or major part of 4 hours (more than 2 hours), near the middle of each segment. Separate from the meal; cannot be added to lunch or used to start late or leave early
If duties continue	An employee not relieved of all duties for 30 continuous minutes must be paid for the entire meal period
Waivers	Not allowed, except that tipped food and beverage servers 18 or older may waive the meal period on BOLI's written form after 7 days on the job. They still get a duty-free meal on shifts over 8 hours
Other exceptions	Rare unforeseeable events; a paid, duty-free meal of at least 20 minutes set by industry custom; undue hardship, with paid time to eat and a BOLI notice to each employee; and no rest break for an adult working alone in retail or service for under 5 hours in any 16 who can leave to use the restroom
Penalties	BOLI civil penalty up to $1,000 per willful violation, and up to $2,000 for coercing a server to waive a meal. Covered hospital staff can receive $200 per missed meal or rest period

Breaks by shift length

BOLI publishes the count by work period, which runs from start to finish including paid rest breaks but not the unpaid meal:

2 hours or less: no breaks.
2 hours 1 minute to 5 hours 59 minutes: one rest break.
6 hours: one rest break and one meal period.
6 hours 1 minute to 10 hours: two rest breaks and one meal period.
10 hours 1 minute to 13 hours 59 minutes: three rest breaks and one meal period.
14 hours: three rest breaks and two meal periods.

Timing and the habits that break the rule

For a work period over 7 hours, the meal must start after the third hour and be finished before the sixth hour begins. On a shift that starts at 8:00 a.m., lunch has to fall between 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m., so a 12:45 p.m. start that runs to 1:15 p.m. is late.

BOLI's FAQ rules out the common workarounds. An employee who arrives 10 minutes late cannot work through a rest break to make up the time, cannot skip the afternoon break to leave 10 minutes early, and cannot stack rest breaks onto lunch for a longer meal. An employer whose employee refuses to take breaks is still out of compliance and may need to discipline the employee. Employers can require staff to stay on the premises during breaks, but an employee who must stay on site and on call has not been relieved of duty.

What a missed break costs

Oregon has no fixed premium like California's extra hour. A meal period interrupted by work must be paid in full, and the employer carries the burden of showing that required rest periods were provided. BOLI can assess a civil penalty of up to $1,000 for each willful violation under ORS 653.256, and hospital nurses and other hospital staff covered by ORS 653.258 can receive $200 for each missed meal or rest period through a complaint to the Oregon Health Authority.

Rules for minors

Minors under 18 get the same 30-minute meal period, but their rest breaks are 15 minutes instead of 10 (OAR 839-021-0072). The meal period exceptions for unforeseeable events, industry custom, and undue hardship can apply to 16 and 17 year olds, never to 14 and 15 year olds, and only servers 18 or older can sign a meal waiver.

Worked example: a 15-person landscaping crew

A crew member works 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. with a 30-minute unpaid lunch, an 8.5-hour work period.

He gets one 30-minute meal and two paid 10-minute rest breaks. The meal must start after 10:00 a.m. and be finished by 12:00 p.m., so an 11:00 to 11:30 a.m. lunch works and a 12:00 p.m. lunch does not.
The rest breaks go near the middle of each segment, around 9:00 a.m. and around 1:45 p.m., not at 3:50 p.m. to end the day early.
If the crew lead eats in the truck while taking client calls, he was not relieved of duty, so his 30 minutes must be paid. A 17-year-old summer hire on the same crew gets 15-minute rest breaks instead of 10.
On high heat days, Oregon OSHA's heat rules add heat illness prevention rest breaks. BOLI says they can overlap a required meal or rest break when the timing lines up.

How to track it

Oregon puts the burden on the employer to show rest periods were provided, so the record needs each break's start and end, not just a written policy. A timesheet that only shows total hours cannot prove the meal started after the third hour and ended before the sixth, or that a rest break was not tacked onto lunch.

ClockOut records meal and rest breaks as their own punches. Admins can set company-wide break rules in the form "after X hours worked, a break of at least Y minutes" for meals and rest breaks, and late or missing breaks show up in the manager's exception inbox. By default the rules apply to everyone. On Pro, a break rule can be limited to one work rule set, so minors on their own set can get a 15-minute rest break rule; otherwise check minors' rest breaks on their timesheets. Keep servers' signed meal waivers and BOLI notices on file yourself.

Oregon meal and rest breaks FAQ

Can an employee skip a break to leave early in Oregon?

No. Rest breaks must be taken near the middle of each 4-hour segment and cannot be moved to the start or end of the shift. If an employee works through lunch, the employer generally has to require the meal break rather than let the employee leave 30 minutes early.

Is a lunch break required on a 6-hour shift in Oregon?

Yes. A work period of 6 hours or more gets a 30-minute meal period, plus one paid 10-minute rest break. Under 6 hours, no meal period is required.

Can servers waive their meal break in Oregon?

Tipped food and beverage servers 18 or older can, if they ask voluntarily in writing on BOLI's form after at least 7 days on the job, still get a chance to eat on shifts of 6 hours or more, and get a duty-free meal on shifts over 8 hours. An employer cannot ask or pressure them to sign.

Are rest breaks paid in Oregon?

Yes. Rest breaks are at least 10 minutes with no deduction from pay. The 30-minute meal period can be unpaid only when the employee is relieved of all duties for the full 30 minutes.

Sources, checked September 23, 2026

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