Purpose/Objective
[Company Name] provides employees with the opportunity to take a 10-minute paid rest break during every four hours worked (or major fraction thereof), which should be taken as far as practicable in the middle of each work period. Rest breaks may not be combined with meal periods, and they may not be used to shorten the workday.
EligibilityEmployees are permitted and authorized to take a paid, duty-free 10-minute rest break during each four-hour shift or major fraction thereof. The company generally will not authorize a rest break for employees whose total daily work time is less than three and one-half hours.
ProceduresEmployees are generally authorized and permitted to schedule their rest breaks at their own discretion under this policy; however, supervisors may schedule rest breaks to ensure the smooth operation of their departments.
Rest breaks counted as hours worked
Rest breaks are counted as hours worked, and thus, employees are not required to record their rest breaks on their timecards or in the company’s timekeeping system.
Number of rest breaks
Rest breaks will be provided as follows:
Shift (Hours Worked in a Day) | Number of Paid Rest Breaks |
At least 3.5 but less than 6 hours | 1 |
At least 6 but less than 10 hours | 2 |
At least 10 but less than 14 hours | 3 |
Relieved of all duty
It is company policy to relieve employees of all duty during their rest breaks, so that employees are free to use their rest break time as they wish. However, employees are required to remain on company premises during their rest breaks. The company schedules work assignments with the expectation that all employees will take their duty-free rest breaks, and the company encourages employees to do so.
Employees may be asked to confirm in writing that they have been relieved of all duty and otherwise provided all of their rest breaks during a particular pay period, or in the alternative, to identify any rest breaks that they have missed.
Company managers and supervisors are not authorized to instruct an employee how to spend his or her personal time during a rest break. Employees should immediately report a manager’s or supervisor’s instruction to skip or to work during a rest break to [human resources/other job title].
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