How Long Are Lunch Breaks in Minnesota?

An employer's obligation to give employees meal breaks and other breaks during the work day depends on state law. A number of states don't require employers to offer any breaks at all. Minnesota law does obligate employers to provide a meal break.

Read on to learn how long that break should last.

Employer Must Provide Sufficient Time for Lunch Break in Minnesota

Under Minnesota law, an employer must provide "sufficient" unpaid time for a meal break to employees who work at least eight consecutive hours.

Although the law doesn't say exactly how long a meal break must last, Minnesota regulations state that a 30-minute break will usually qualify as a true meal break.

If there are special circumstances that make it impossible for your employer to offer a break of at least 30 minutes, a shorter break may be justified under the law. But absent such circumstances, you should get at least 30 minutes to eat your meal.

When a Shorter Break Might Be Permitted

Consider a retail employee whose lunch period naturally falls between customer rushes. The manager might allow a 20-minute break because that window works with store traffic. Provided the employee isn't expected to ring up customers or check stock during that time, the break could qualify as "sufficient" under state law.

A baker whose schedule is tightly coordinated with oven timing might get a 25-minute meal break. Even though it's shorter than 30 minutes, if the baker isn't pressured to check dough or assist coworkers during that break, it could still count as a bona fide unpaid meal break.

What won't work is labeling a working lunch—when the employee is still answering phones or monitoring machines—as a "sufficient meal break," even if it lasts 30 minutes or more. That kind of break doesn't count as unpaid time off because the employee remains on duty.

Are Meal Breaks Paid in Minnesota?

The issue of pay is clearer. If an employer gives employees less than 20 minutes off for a meal, it must pay for that time.

Minnesota also requires employers to give employees "adequate" time to use the rest room within every four consecutive hours of work. This time must be paid. Like the meal period, however, there is no time requirement for these breaks.

For more information on breaks, see Meal and Rest Breaks: Your Rights as an Employee.