You’re entitled to unpaid meal breaks according to the table below (where “x” represents the number of hours in your workday).
Number of hours | Meal Break Guidelines |
5 < x ≤ 10 | Entitled to one 30 min meal break taken by the end of the 5th hour of work. For shifts where x < 6, you are eligible to voluntarily waive your meal break. |
10 < x ≤ 14 | Entitled to two 30 min meal breaks; first one taken by the end of the 5th hour of work, the second take by the end of the 10th hour of work. For shifts where 10 < x < 12, you are eligible to voluntarily waive your second meal break, but you must take your first. |
Meal breaks should be off-duty (and thus unpaid). However, if your facility requires you to work during your meal break for the sake of patient care or safety, then you must have prior written and signed approval from your supervisor for each meal break for which you are working.