Federal law requires Kentucky employers to allow Muslim workers to participate in prayer rituals. This law also applies to all other states in the union. The law is applicable in the majority of cases, though there are some exceptions.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964, specifically, Title VII of ... continue reading

The concept of practicing religion at work has some Missouri employees concerned. Many of them wonder, for example, if it is acceptable for Muslim employees to take prayer breaks on the job.

The law that must be followed here is part of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Specifically, ... continue reading

In most cases, Muslim employees, in Maryland as well as throughout the United States, must be permitted to take breaks for prayer during their workday. This is a federal law, specifically, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. The act was established in 1964, and it forbids any type of ... continue reading

In Hawaii, there are many employees who have questions regarding the legalities of practicing religion in the workplace. A question that frequently arises is, must employees of the Muslim faith be given breaks to pray at work?

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is a federal ... continue reading

Workers in the state of Alaska have raised concerns about whether people should legally be allowed to practice religion while at work. In some ways, the response to these concerns is quite simple and straightforward. In others, however, there are stipulations.

Federal law makes it a requirement for employers ... continue reading

The Disaster Unemployment Assistance program is a federal program that is in place in order to provide employees with financial assistance if they are ever in a situation in which they cannot work because of a disaster. When there is a large-scale disaster, such as a fire or a flood, ... continue reading

Employees in Washington, DC are protected by the Family and Medical Leave Act if they wish to take time off of work in order to care for their sick or injured family members or in order to care for their own health-related concerns. However, even though many employees in Washington, ... continue reading

Recently while out shopping I spied a bumper sticker that said, “Unions: the people who brought you weekends.” Well, yes and no. While unions have certainly improved the working conditions of countless workers, the 40-hour workweek was established by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act or FLSA, in 1938. The ... continue reading

If California has the best break laws in the nation, the Wyoming lunch and break laws are probably the worst. There is no law requiring employees be given even a 5-minute break in Wyoming. In fact, an employee could theoretically be required to work 20 hours or more without a ... continue reading

While a total of 20 U. S. states mandate some sort of meal break for employees under state law, Wisconsin only recommends that employees be given a meal break.

It’s a little misleading to even speak of the “Wisconsin lunch and break laws.” When most people use that phrase, ... continue reading

While West Virginia requires employers to give only a 20-minute meal break, that is more than most states require. There are no federal laws requiring employers to give meal or rest breaks. A total of 31 U.S. states have no laws requiring meal periods for employees, at all. In those ... continue reading

The Washington lunch and break laws dictate meal periods and breaks for many employees. The Administrative regulation that requires meals and breaks specifically excludes newspaper carriers, domestic laborers, casual laborers in a private residence, workers in a sheltered workshop and agricultural workers.

In addition, Washington law allows for the ... continue reading

Quick, how many breaks per day is a Virginia worker entitled to by state or federal law? If you count meal breaks, restroom breaks, coffee breaks, snack breaks and rest breaks, you still end up with. . . zero.

That’s right, there is nothing in the Virginia state law ... continue reading

The Vermont lunch and break laws are among the nation’s most vague. They are so vague that the U.S. Dept. of Labor’s website on state break laws doesn’t even list the Vermont laws.

Under the Vermont lunch and break laws, technically known as Vermont Statute 21, section 304, employees ... continue reading

Here’s an interesting problem: Is a Utah employee with low blood sugar entitled to snack breaks every 2 hours, under the Utah lunch and break laws? The answer may be yes.

While there are no federal or Utah laws mandating work breaks of any kind, many employers do give ... continue reading

Several people have sent in questions about the Texas lunch and break laws. Unfortunately, Texas is one of several U.S. states that don’t require employers to give employees any breaks, for meals or rest periods.

Many employees are surprised to learn that no federal law requires that an employee ... continue reading

The Tennessee lunch and break laws dictate that employees who work a shift of 6 consecutive hours or more, must receive a meal break. This is true, regardless of the hours the employee works. While mid-shift meal breaks are often called “lunch breaks,” for an employee who works an overnight ... continue reading

Workers in South Dakota just can’t catch a break. A total of 20 U. S. states have laws that require employees to be given meal breaks, but there is no such law in South Dakota.

It’s even inaccurate to talk about the South Dakota lunch and meal breaks. No ... continue reading

Employees are not guaranteed breaks under any South Carolina lunch and break laws. In fact, there are no laws in the state that require employees to be give paid or unpaid breaks.

Altogether, 20 U. S. states offer some sort of protection for worker’s break time. A total of ... continue reading

Several of our readers have asked, “Am I entitled to smoke breaks under the Pennsylvania lunch and break laws?”

Unfortunately, the most common type of break is also the one with the least protection, under the law. There is no federal or state law that requires that workers be ... continue reading

Oregon is one of only 8 states that require employers to give both meal periods and shorter breaks to virtually all employees. Although the rule is an administratively issued Wage and Hour Commission regulation, it has the force of statute.

The Oregon lunch and break laws cover every employer ... continue reading

You might think workers would be entitled to restroom breaks under the Oklahoma lunch and break laws. . . but you would be mistaken. There is no state law that entitles employees to breaks, even to use the restroom. Although there is no federal legislation on the topic, employees can ... continue reading

A number of studies have shown that periodic short breaks actually improve productivity. Employees who had a 10 to 15-minute break every 2 hours completed more work than those who worked continuously, without a break. That’s only common sense to most workers.

It’s surprising, then, that no Ohio or ... continue reading

Although no federal law requires employers to give meal breaks, the North Dakota lunch and break laws do. Under an administratively issued Minimum Wage and Work Conditions Order, each North Dakota employee is entitled to a 30-minute unpaid meal break on each shift exceeding 5 hours. Employees are not required ... continue reading

Several people have asked, “Can my boss automatically deduct time from my paycheck for a lunch break, if I never get a chance to take it?” The short answer is no.

Although there are no North Carolina lunch and break laws to protect worker’s rights, this matter is covered ... continue reading

New York is one of  just 11 U.S. states that require a meal period on each shift, but not shorter breaks under the New York lunch and break laws. A number of statutes cover required meal periods in New York. Factory workers, for example, are covered under a separate law ... continue reading

A New Mexico reader asks if she can take time off to attend to health matters under the New Mexico lunch and break laws. While New Mexico, unlike some other states, doesn’t mandate breaks for employees, this woman may be covered under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Most employees ... continue reading

Do employees have a right to bathroom breaks under the New Jersey lunch and break laws? It may surprise you to learn that the answer is no. There is no state law that entitles employees to breaks, even to use the restroom.

Although there is no federal legislation on ... continue reading

Did you ever wonder about the New Hampshire lunch and break laws? They require that each employee receive a 30-minute lunch break after 5 consecutive hours of work. The lunch period may be unpaid – there is no requirement that the employee be paid for their lunch break, as long as ... continue reading

The Rhode Island lunch and break laws require that most employees receive a meal break, on a shift of 6 hours or more. Employees who work a 6-hour shift are entitled to a 20-minute meal break. Employees who work an 8-hour shift are entitled to a 30-minute meal break. These ... continue reading