The January 1, 2026, changes to Minnesota’s meal and rest break laws require employers to provide fifteen-minute breaks and a thirty-minute meal break depending on hours worked. However, the vague amendments left more questions than answers. The questions raised in our July 2025 article were submitted to the state, and the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (MNDOLI) has now published guidance in the form of frequently asked questions (FAQs) providing some clarity. While not law, the FAQs indicate how MNDOLI interprets the laws and how they are anticipated to enforce them. MNDOLI has indicated it is evaluating whether it will conduct breaks-related rulemaking.
Quick Hits
- Minnesota’s break laws are only applicable to “employees” as defined by the Minnesota Fair Labor Standards Act, excluding exempt employees and some U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT)-related positions.
- Employers must only provide one meal period per day if an employee works six hours or more.
- An unpaid meal period of twenty minutes or more is not counted as “hours worked” for purposes of calculating rest breaks.
MNDOLI’s FAQs Guidance
Eligibility—Who Is Entitled to the Statutory Breaks?
Minnesota’s meal and rest break laws only apply to workers who are “employees” as defined by the Minnesota Fair Labor Standards Act (MNFLSA), Minn. Stat. 177.23, Subd. 7. Notably, this excludes, and thus does not apply to:
- “any individual employed in a bona fide executive, administrative, or professional capacity, or a salesperson who conducts no more than 20 percent of sales on the premises of the employer” (note: these are exempt professionals as defined by the MNFLSA which does not always align with the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, such as the Minnesota 80/20 requirement related to outside sales);
- “any individual in a position for which the United States Department of Transportation has power to establish qualifications and maximum hours of service under United States Code, title 49, section 31502” (certain U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) qualified drivers, etc.);
- certain agricultural and farming workers;
- seasonal staff members of an organized and permitted resident or day camp;
- nonprofit volunteers;
- certain elected officials and others working for a political subdivision, including police and fire protection services; certain state natural resource managers; certain county-run home school and residence workers; and individuals under age eighteen working less than twenty hours for a municipality recreational program;
- taxicab drivers, babysitters, and “seafarers”; and
- certain members of religious orders “who serve pursuant to their religious obligations in schools, hospitals, and other nonprofit institutions.”
In addition, as before, employers and employees may establish rest and meal breaks different from those provided for by the law pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement. Employers are also reminded that under Minnesota’s Women’s Economic Security Act, pregnant employees must be provided more frequent or longer restroom, food, and water breaks, if requested.
Mandatory Meal Break
Minn. Stat. 177.254 (Mandatory Meal Break), as amended, provides: “An employer must allow each employee who is working for six or more consecutive hours a meal break of at least 30 minutes.” MNDOLI has provided its interpretation of this amendment as follows:
- It only applies to one meal break per day, no matter whether an employee works six hours or twelve hours (or more).
- If the meal break is more than twenty minutes and unpaid, it is not hours worked.
- An employer may still require the employee to remain on site during this unpaid thirty-minute meal break.
- A one-hour unpaid meal break that combines the thirty-minute meal break and two fifteen-minute rest breaks for an employee working from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. is permissible.
Mandatory Work Breaks
Minn. Stat. 177.253 (Mandatory Work Breaks), as amended, provides: “An employer must allow each employee a rest break of at least 15 minutes or enough time to utilize the nearest convenient restroom, whichever is longer, within each four consecutive hours of work.” MNDOLI has provided its interpretation of this amendment as follows:
- This expands the prior break to use the restroom—it may now be used for time to use the restroom and more.
- The rest break must be allowed within the four-hour period—not at or after four hours.
- Any time an employee performs work duties including training time and cleaning time is “hours of work.”
- Hours worked does not include the unpaid meal break, so long as it is twenty minutes or more and the employee is completely relieved of all work duties.
- An employee working from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. with a lunch break from 12-12:30 would be entitled to two rest breaks.
- An employee working from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. with a meal break from 11:30 a.m. to noon would not be entitled to a rest break before lunch but would be entitled to one after.
Waivers—Employees May Choose to Work Through Their Breaks
MNDOLI has confirmed its position that the statutes allow an employee to voluntarily waive their breaks, and “it is a best practice to confirm this in writing with the employee. Employers may consider seeking the assistance of an employment law attorney to determine whether their policies and practices allow employees to take breaks as required by Minnesota law.”
MNDOLI’s stated position is that whether an employer “allows” its employees to take a break is based on the facts, which may include whether: (1) the employer has break-related policies; (2) the policies have been communicated to employees; and (3) work circumstances actually allow employees to take breaks.
Remedies for Violations—Liquidated Damages
Both statutes (as revised) provide that if such a break is not allowed, “the employer is liable to the employee for the rest [meal] break time that should have been allowed at the employee’s regular rate of pay, plus an additional equal amount as liquidated damages.” MNDOLI has declined to offer any guidance about how it will calculate such remedies in the case of a violation. The FAQs merely reiterate the law and state that the remedies may be pursued by the department or through a private right of action (i.e., the employee sues). Thus, there are still more unanswered questions than answers in this regard.
Key Takeaways
Employers may want to consider amending their current handbooks and/or policies by January 1, 2026, to reflect these break period changes.
Employers may also want to update timekeeping systems, policies, and procedures to account for a break waiver for employees to sign/acknowledge if they voluntarily choose to waive their break(s).