Breaks and Meal Periods

No. There is no federal or Florida state law which requires that employees be given periodic breaks or meal periods, except in the case of nursing mothers.

• As noted above, there is no law governing breaks or meal periods.
• Breaks and meal periods are set by the department based on the needs of the organization.
• The general practice at Pinellas County is that during an 8-hour workday, most employees take a meal period of 30 minutes to 1 hour.
• Some classified employees are granted 1 or 2 short breaks lasting up to 15 minutes each.
• Check with your manager or director if you have questions.

The following information applies to classified (hourly) employees only:

• Short breaks or rest periods up to 15 minutes, if permitted, are considered paid work hours.
• Meal periods (typically lasting at least 30 minutes) are not considered paid work time.
• If an employee who is usually given a meal break is required to work through meal time, the supervisor must count the time as hours worked which is paid time.