Colorado Required Workday Break & Meal Periods 2024
Workday Meal Periods:
REQUIRED
By Administratively issued Wage Order for 4 industries
Workday Rest Periods:
REQUIRED
By Administratively issued Wage Order for 4 industries
Colorado has extensive regulations providing for mandatory break periods during the workday, including both mandatory meal / lunch periods and one or more shorter rest periods. This page provides details about Colorado's meal and rest period requirements.
Mandatory Workday Lunch / Meal Breaks in Colorado
Colorado employees must receive a ½ hour lunch break if a work shift exceeds 5 consecutive hours. An on-duty meal period must be counted as time worked and is permitted when the nature of the employee's work prevents relief from all duties.
Which employees are covered by Colorado's meal period regulations?
Colorado's lunch break rules are applicable to retail and service, food and beverage, commercial support service, and health and medical industries.
The following employees are exempt from mandatory lunch break rules: administrative, executive/supervisor, professional, outside sales employees, elected officials and their staff, companions, casual babysitters, property managers, interstate drivers, driver helpers, loaders or mechanics of motor carriers, and domestic employees employed by households or family members to perform duties in private residences, taxi cab drivers, and bona fide volunteers.
Also exempt are: students employed by sororities, fraternities, college clubs, or dormitories, and students employed in a work experience study program and employees working in laundries of charitable institutions which pay no wages to workers and inmates, or patient workers who work in institutional laundries.
Note: Colorado Has Special Regulations for Minor Employees
In addition to a general regulation requiring meal periods for employees, Colorado has special regulations that require meal periods for minors under age 18. These regulations, which require more frequent and / or longer meal / break periods, take precedence over the general regulations for minor employees. Learn more about Colorado's child labor regulations here.
Mandatory Workday Rest Periods in Colorado
In Colorado, one paid 10-minute rest period is required for each 4-hour work period or major fraction thereof. As practicable, this rest period should be in the middle of each work period.
Which employees are covered by Colorado's rest period regulations?
Colorado's paid rest period rules are applicable to retail and service, food and beverage, commercial support service, and health and medical industries.
There are a number of exemptions to the paid rest period mandate, including the following: administrative, executive/supervisor, professional, outside sales employees, interstate drivers, elected officials and their staff, companions, casual babysitters, and domestic employees employed by households or family members to perform duties in private residences, property managers, driver helpers, loaders or mechanics of motor carriers, taxi cab drivers, and bona fide volunteers.
Also exempt are: students employed by sororities, fraternities, college clubs, or dormitories, and students employed in a work experience study program and employees working in laundries of charitable institutions which pay no wages to workers and inmates, or patient workers who work in institutional laundries.
Additional Rest Period Information
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