Meal and Rest Breaks, State by State.
US federal law requires no meal or rest break, but many states do — each in its own way: per workday or per stretch of work, paid or unpaid, with a deadline, and in some states with extra pay when a break is missed. Shiftavo ships each jurisdiction as a pack. Create a break policy from it, have the right work policy pick it, and planning, the recorded-break check and the payroll reports follow that state's rules. Break policies come with every plan, and every rule and setting stays editable.
26 Packs, Ready to Start From.
Each pack holds a jurisdiction's general break rules and settings, and a note saying what it assumes.
21 States.
California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland (retail), Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Vermont, Washington and West Virginia.
Three Territories.
Puerto Rico, Guam and the US Virgin Islands.
Two Special Cases.
Illinois hotel room attendants and New York factories, where the law sets breaks of its own.
Three Steps to a State's Breaks.
Start from the pack.
Create a break policy and pick the state's pack. Its rules and settings are copied in, and the pack's note tells you what it assumes and which values it had to choose where the law names none.
Pick it where it applies.
Choose the policy on the work policy of the location, employment type or person it covers. A location in a state with a pack shows a notice while its breaks still come from a work policy that doesn't use it.
Adjust it to your agreement.
Every rule and setting stays editable — for a collective agreement or a stricter house rule. A rule you edit changes in every policy that holds it.
When a Missed Break Owes Extra Pay.
California, Colorado, Minnesota, Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, Washington and Illinois hotel room attendants owe extra pay for missed breaks. Their packs switch on what that needs.
Every Break on the Record.
These packs require punched breaks, and the recorded-break check flags missing, short, early or late breaks with no tolerance.
Two Questions After Every Shift.
People answer at the kiosk, in the app or on the web: did they get every meal and rest break they were entitled to? A voluntary skip excuses the pay only where the pack's jurisdiction allows it.
Hours, Not Guesswork.
The payroll summary and detail carry the extra hours per workday — payable, excused by an answer or a manager's reason, or still pending. Your payroll applies the rate.
General Rules, Not Every Exception.
A pack covers a jurisdiction's general rules for adult employees. Industry carve-outs, employer size, people working alone and collective agreements stay your call, and no pack is a complete payroll configuration. Break rules for minors aren't covered: they turn on age and the school calendar, which Shiftavo doesn't store. When a state changes its law, a pack doesn't change the policies you already have — you edit the rules. This is a planning tool, not legal advice; if you're unsure what applies, ask your counsel.
Where to Go Next.
The pages that sit next to this one — and the documentation when you want the detail.
Breaks
Break policies from planning to payroll — checks, break questions and missed-break pay.
Breaks
Country Compliance
Work-time rules for seven countries, pre-configured and enforced as you plan.
Country Compliance
Payroll & Reports
Reports across hours, cost, and payroll. Exports in CSV/Excel and PDF, or straight out over the Public API.
Payroll & Reports
Time & Attendance
Clock-in becomes a timesheet row. Manager-approved hours flow into payroll.
Time & Attendance