US overtime and break rules by state

Which US states add their own overtime or break rules? The 18 states in the first table below do, in the ways each row lists; Texas and Florida follow the federal 40-hour rule for private-sector overtime.

Federal law sets the floor: 1.5 times the regular rate after 40 hours in a workweek (29 U.S.C. 207(a)(1)). A state can add to it, and the worker gets whichever rule pays more (29 U.S.C. 218(a)). The table lists only states whose own text we have read. A state gets its own page only if its rule changes the overtime math or requires an adult meal or rest break.

States with their own rules

State	What the state adds	Citation
Alaska	1.5x over 8 h/day and 40 h/week, no double counting; employers with 4+ employees	AS 23.10.060
California	1.5x over 8 h/day, 2x over 12 h/day, 7th-day rule; exempt salary 2x state minimum	Lab. Code 510, 515
California: break laws	30-min meal over 5 h, second over 10 h; 10-min paid rest per 4 h; 1-hour premium	Lab. Code 512; IWC Order 4
Connecticut	30-min meal for 7.5+ consecutive h	CGS 31-51ii
Delaware	unpaid 30-min meal for 7.5+ consecutive h	19 Del. C. 707
Hawaii	state OT for salaried staff under $4,000/month; salary / 40 for the regular rate	HRS 387-1, 387-3
Maine	30-min break after 6 consecutive h; exempt pay above 3,000x state minimum wage	26 MRSA 601, 663
Maryland	retail shift breaks at employers with 50+ retail staff	Lab. & Empl. 3-710
Massachusetts	commissions and bonuses left out of the OT rate; 30-min meal after 6 h	c.151 s.1A; c.149 s.100
Minnesota	state OT after 48 h; 15-min rest per 4 h; 30-min meal at 6 h	Minn. Stat. 177.25, 177.253, 177.254
Nebraska	30-min lunch off premises per 8-h shift, plants and workshops	Neb. Rev. Stat. 48-212
Nevada	1.5x over 8 h/day if paid under 1.5x minimum wage; meal and rest breaks	NRS 608.018, 608.019
New Hampshire	30-min lunch after 5 consecutive h	RSA 275:30-a
New York	OT for most FLSA-exempt staff at 1.5x minimum; spread of hours; 2026 exempt salary	12 NYCRR 142-2.2, 2.4, 2.14
North Dakota	30-min meal on shifts over 5 h with 2+ on duty	NDAC 46-02-07-02(5)
Pennsylvania	salaried non-exempt regular rate = salary / 40; day-rate half-time	34 Pa. Code 231.43
Rhode Island	20-min meal in 6 h, 30-min in 8 h; 1.5x on Sundays and holidays	RIGL 28-3-14, 25-3-3
Washington	farm workers get OT after 40; 2026 exempt salary $1,541.70/week; meal and rest breaks	RCW 49.46.130; WAC 296-128-545, 296-126-092
West Virginia	20 min for meals in a 6+ h workday	W. Va. Code 21-3-10a

Meal break rules in other states

These three states have a meal-break rule of a sentence or two and no penalty, agency or pay rule in the text, so each gets a short section here instead of its own page. Each section quotes the law, gives the copy we read and the date.

Federal law. Federal law does not require lunch or coffee breaks (U.S. Department of Labor). Short breaks of about 5 to 20 minutes that an employer offers count as hours worked and are paid (29 CFR 785.18). A bona fide meal period, ordinarily 30 minutes or more with the worker completely relieved from duty, is not work time and can be unpaid (29 CFR 785.19). The state rules below sit on top of that.

Nebraska

Does Nebraska require a lunch break? Only at assembling plants, workshops and mechanical establishments: at least 30 consecutive minutes off the premises in each 8-hour shift (Neb. Rev. Stat. 48-212).

Neb. Rev. Stat. 48-212

"Any person, firm, or corporation owning or operating an assembling plant, workshop, or mechanical establishment employing one or more persons shall allow all of their employees not less than thirty consecutive minutes for lunch in each eight-hour shift, and during such time it shall be unlawful for any such employer to require such employee or employees to remain in buildings or on the premises where their labor is performed. This section does not apply to employment that is covered by a valid collective-bargaining agreement or other written agreement between an employer and employee."

What it means:

• Who: workers at assembling plants, workshops and mechanical establishments. Offices and shops outside those terms are not named.
• Length: at least 30 consecutive minutes per 8-hour shift.
• Off the premises: the employer may not require the worker to stay in the building or on site during it.
• Exception: a collective bargaining agreement or other written agreement.

Worked example: a 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. shift at a plant

The shift is one 8-hour shift at an assembling plant, so the worker gets at least 30 consecutive minutes for lunch, for example 11:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., and the employer may not require the worker to stay in the building or on the premises during it. The statute sets no clock window for the lunch (arithmetic and reading of 48-212).

Breaks at a glance

Item	Nebraska rule
Who	Assembling plants, workshops and mechanical establishments
Length	Not less than 30 consecutive minutes per 8-hour shift
Timing	Not set by the section
Location	Employer may not require the worker to stay on the premises
Pay	The section does not say
Different arrangement	Collective bargaining or other written agreement

Penalties and enforcement

Section 48-212 states no penalty and names no enforcing agency. We did not read an agency page for it today, so we say nothing about how to file a complaint.

Not legal, tax or payroll advice. Read on October 27, 2026 from the Legislature's statute page through an Internet Archive copy dated October 13, 2026. Last amended by Laws 2004, LB 382.

New Hampshire

Does New Hampshire require a lunch break? Yes: 30 minutes after 5 consecutive hours, unless the worker can eat while working and the employer allows it (RSA 275:30-a).

RSA 275:30-a

"An employer may not require an employee to work more than 5 consecutive hours without granting him a 1/2 hour lunch or eating period, except if it is feasible for the employee to eat during the performance of his work, and the employer permits him to do so."

What it means:

• When: before the sixth consecutive hour of work.
• Length: 30 minutes.
• The exception: if the worker can eat while working and the employer allows it, no separate break is required.
• Pay: the section does not say whether the break is paid. We found no state text that answers it.

Worked example: an 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. shift

The shift is 8.5 hours. The employer may not require more than 5 consecutive hours of work without a half-hour lunch or eating period, so the lunch has to begin by 1:00 p.m. (arithmetic from RSA 275:30-a). The section sets no earliest time, and a worker who can eat while working, with the employer's permission, needs no separate break.

Breaks at a glance

Item	New Hampshire rule
Trigger	More than 5 consecutive hours
Length	1/2 hour
Timing	Before the sixth consecutive hour
Pay	The section does not say
Exception	Worker can eat while working and the employer permits it

Penalties and enforcement

RSA 275:30-a states no penalty and names no enforcing agency. We could not read the Department of Labor's site today (it returned an access error), so we give no complaint link.

Not legal, tax or payroll advice. Read on October 27, 2026 from the General Court's RSA page through an Internet Archive copy dated October 13, 2026, because gc.nh.gov blocked our connection. The section dates from 1975 and has no later amendment in its source line.

West Virginia

Does West Virginia require a meal break? Yes, at least 20 minutes in a workday of 6 or more hours, in situations where workers are "not afforded necessary breaks and/or permitted to eat lunch while working" (W. Va. Code 21-3-10a).

W. Va. Code 21-3-10a

"During the course of a workday of six or more hours, all employers shall make available for each of their employees, at least twenty minutes for meal breaks, at times reasonably designated by the employer. This provision shall be required in all situations where employees are not afforded necessary breaks and/or permitted to eat lunch while working"

What it means:

• When it applies: a workday of 6 hours or more.
• Length: at least 20 minutes, at a time the employer reasonably sets.
• When it is required: the last sentence ties the duty to "situations where employees are not afforded necessary breaks and/or permitted to eat lunch while working." Because of the "and/or", the text does not say plainly whether a worker who gets only one of those (other breaks, or eating while working) falls outside the rule. We found no agency reading that settles it.
• Pay: the text does not say whether the break is paid.

Worked example: an 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. workday

The workday is 8 hours, over the 6-hour mark, so the employer must make at least 20 minutes available for meal breaks "at times reasonably designated by the employer," subject to the last sentence of the section described above. The section sets no clock window; a 12:00 p.m. to 12:20 p.m. break would satisfy the length. A 5-hour day is under the trigger (arithmetic from 21-3-10a).

Breaks at a glance

Item	West Virginia rule
Trigger	A workday of 6 or more hours
Length	At least 20 minutes
Timing	At times reasonably designated by the employer
Pay	The section does not say
Limit	Applies "where employees are not afforded necessary breaks and/or permitted to eat lunch while working"; the "and/or" is unclear

Penalties and enforcement

Section 21-3-10a states no penalty and names no enforcing agency. We could not confirm an official complaint page today, so we give no link.

Not legal, tax or payroll advice. Read on October 27, 2026 from the Legislature's code page through an Internet Archive copy dated September 4, 2026, because code.wvlegislature.gov blocked our connection.

Rules too narrow for a page

State	Rule	Citation
Kansas	state OT after 46 h a week; the FLSA's 40 still applies to workers it covers (29 U.S.C. 218(a))	K.S.A. 44-1204(a)

Federal rules only

State	Finding	Citation
Texas	no private-sector overtime law; public-sector rules exist	Tex. Lab. Code 62.151; Gov't Code 659.015
Florida	no overtime rate; an unpriced 10-hour-day rule for some manual labor	Fla. Stat. 448.01

Details on the federal overtime rules page.

Not yet checked

Every other state, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Colorado, Illinois, Kentucky, Oregon, Tennessee and Puerto Rico have rules of their own that we know of, but we have not yet read their official text, so they are not described here.

Not legal, tax or payroll advice. Each row was read in the state's own statute or regulation on October 27, 2026; each state page names the copy we read.