Illinois Break Laws

December 1st 2025

Understanding Illinois labor laws for breaks at work is essential for both employers and employees to ensure fair treatment, prevent violations, and maintain a healthy, compliant workplace.

Illinois has specific rules for rest and meal breaks, with special protections for hotel room attendants. The state’s break laws also define rules for pregnancy-related and breastfeeding breaks.

To help employers and employees understand their responsibilities and rights, this guide offers a clear overview of Illinois break laws, including rest breaks, meal periods, hotel employee and minor employee rules, and other key protections. It also outlines the penalties for violating break laws in Illinois.

This Article Covers

Rest Breaks in Illinois

Employees in Illinois are entitled to reasonable restroom breaks under the state One Day Rest in Seven Act (ODRISA).

Employers in Illinois are also required to provide employees at least 24 hours of rest for every consecutive seven-day period under ODRISA.

For employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement, ODRISA’s day-off rule doesn’t apply. However, if their agreement doesn’t specify a rest day off, they are entitled to meal and rest breaks as per ODRISA.

However, employers can take permission from the Illinois Department of Labor (IDOL) to let employees work a seventh day, provided the employee voluntarily agrees to work on the seventh day and is paid at the applicable overtime rate for any hours exceeding the 40-hour workweek.

Rest Breaks for Hotel Room Attendants in Illinois

Hotel room attendants are entitled to at least two 15-minute paid rest breaks each day they work for at least seven hours, as mandated by Illinois break laws. Employers cannot require them to work during these breaks.

Employers must also provide employees with a break room that is clean, has ample seating, and provides access to clean drinking water to ensure employees can enjoy their break periods comfortably.

These rules only apply to hotels and similar lodging businesses located in counties with a population of over three million.

Meal Breaks in Illinois

Employees in Illinois must be provided a meal period of at least 20 minutes for every 7.5-hour work shift under Illinois’ ODRISA guidelines. This break must be given no later than five hours after starting work.

If an employee works a 12-hour or longer shift, they must receive an additional 20-minute meal period.

If an employee works during a meal break, the break must be paid.

For employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement, the above-mentioned meal break rules don’t apply. However, if their agreement doesn’t outline meal breaks, ODRISA provisions will apply.

Meal Breaks for Hotel Room Attendants in Illinois

Employers must provide certain hotel room attendants a 30-minute meal period each workday when they work for seven or more hours, under break laws in Illinois.

They must also provide a clean break room with adequate seating and tables. The room needs to have access to clean drinking water. Moreover, employers cannot require employees to work during their meal break period. 

Note that these rules only apply to hotels and similar lodging businesses located in counties with a population of over three million.

Learn more about the laws protecting salaried employees in Illinois.

Breaks for Pregnant Employees in Illinois

Illinois employers must reasonably accommodate pregnant employees, those who have recently given birth, or those facing a related medical condition under the Illinois Human Rights Act.

Here, reasonable accommodation includes:

  • More frequent or longer bathroom breaks.
  • Breaks for increased water intake.
  • Breaks for periodic rests.

Illinois law encourages employers and employees to work together promptly and honestly to figure out a reasonable accommodation. However, employers can deny accommodations for pregnant employees if it causes undue hardship or expense.

Employers can also request limited medical documentation to support an accommodation request if it’s consistent with their usual practices and necessary for the job.

Breastfeeding Breaks in Illinois

Employers with over five employees (excluding their immediate family) must provide reasonably-timed paid breaks for nursing mothers under the Illinois Nursing Mothers in the Workplace Act.

Employees can use this break time to express breast milk, as required, for one year after the child’s birth. This break time may overlap with other existing breaks.

Employers must also make reasonable efforts to provide a private space near the workplace, other than a toilet stall, for expressing milk.

However, if providing paid breastfeeding break time to employees would cause an undue hardship, the employer may be exempt from this requirement.

Breaks for Minor Employees in Illinois

Minor employees under the age of 16 years must receive at least a 30-minute meal period within five consecutive hours of work, as mandated by Illinois’ child labor laws.

Penalties for Violating Break Laws in Illinois

Penalties for Missed Restroom and Meal Breaks in Illinois

Employers who violate Illinois break laws as per the ODRISA can face penalties as follows:

  • Employers with fewer than 25 employees can be fined up to $250 per violation, payable to both the employee and the state.
  • Employers with 25 or more employees can be fined up to $500 per violation, payable to both the employee and the state.
  • Each day a meal break is missed, and each seven-day work period without a required day off counts as a separate violation per employee.

Penalties for Violating Break Rules for Hotel Room Attendants in Illinois

Employers who fail to give hotel room attendants the required breaks under break laws in Illinois must pay three times the worker’s regular hourly rate for every day the breaks were missed.

It is also illegal for an employer to retaliate against an employee for using their rights under this law. If a worker is fired, demoted, or punished after raising a concern, the law assumes it was retaliation unless the employer can prove it was for a valid business reason.

Employees may seek additional remedies, including damages, back pay, reinstatement, injunctive relief, and attorney fees and costs. If an employee is unlawfully fired, they are entitled to lost pay and benefits, with interest, and any other losses suffered due to termination.

Penalties for Denying Pregnancy-Related Breaks in Illinois

It is illegal for an employer to refuse reasonable accommodations for pregnant employees, including more or longer bathroom breaks and periodic rest breaks, unless it causes major difficulty or expense.

Employers cannot discriminate against an employee for requesting or receiving a pregnancy accommodation. Denying jobs or benefits because an employee might need pregnancy-related accommodations is also a violation of the Illinois Human Rights Act.

Employers cannot refuse to return a pregnant employee to their original or an equivalent job once they are ready to return, unless doing so would cause undue hardship.

Discover more penalties for breaking Illinois labor laws.

Important Cautionary Note

This content is provided for informational purposes only. While we make every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information presented, we cannot guarantee that it is free of errors or omissions. Users are advised to independently verify any critical information and should not solely rely on the content provided.