Oregon labor laws set clear requirements for rest and meal breaks, ensuring fair working conditions and protecting employee well-being. For employers, understanding these rules is necessary to maintain compliance and avoid costly penalties. For employees, it helps clarify workplace rights.
This article explains Oregon break laws for rest breaks, meal breaks, heat illness prevention breaks, breastfeeding breaks, special protections for minor employees, and penalties for non-compliance.
Key Takeaways From Oregon Break Laws
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This Article Covers
- Rest Breaks in Oregon
- Meal Breaks in Oregon
- Breastfeeding Breaks in Oregon
- Breaks for Minor Employees in Oregon
- Penalties for Violating Break Laws in Oregon
Rest Breaks in Oregon
Employers in Oregon are required to provide a paid 10-minute rest break for every four hours of work or a major portion of four hours. These breaks must be scheduled as close to the middle of the four hours as possible.
Here, “major portion” refers to whenever an employee’s shift exceeds two hours, even by a minute.
Rest breaks are in addition to and separate from meal breaks. Employers cannot deduct the duration of required rest periods from the beginning or end of an employee’s shift.
The table below provides an overview of the required rest breaks based on an employee’s total work hours (excluding uninterrupted meal breaks, which do not count as work period).
| Employee’s Total Work Hours | Number of Required Rest Breaks |
| 2 hours or less | 0 |
| 2 hours 1 minute to 6 hours | 1 |
| 6 hours 1 minute to 10 hours | 2 |
| 10 hours 1 minute to 14 hours | 3 |
| 14 hours 1 minute to 18 hours | 4 |
Exceptions to Rest Break Requirements in Oregon
Oregon employers are not required to provide rest breaks when the employee is 18 years old or older, works alone, fewer than five hours during a continuous 16-hour period, in a retail or service company that sells to the general public, and is allowed to leave their work desk or station to use the restroom.
Heat Illness Prevention Rest Breaks in Oregon
Employers must also provide employees working under high heat index conditions with heat illness prevention rest breaks regardless of the length of their shift, as required by Oregon OSHA’s rules.
| Heat Index Temperature | Required Heat Illness Prevention Rest Breaks |
| 90°F or greater | 10-minute break for every two hours worked |
| 95°F or greater | 20-minute break for every hour worked |
| 100°F or greater | 30-minute break for every hour worked |
| 105°F or greater | 40-minute break for every hour worked |
These breaks can overlap with an employee’s regular rest or meal breaks if the timing matches. Only the time spent resting in the shade (and not doing any work, except very light tasks) counts as the break.
Unless the break overlaps with an unpaid meal period, the preventative rest break must be paid.
These breaks are only required during parts of the shift when the heat index is 90°F or higher.
Employers can apply other heat illness preventive break rules if they meet certain criteria, as specified in the Oregon OSHA guide.
Meal Breaks in Oregon
All non-exempt employees in Oregon must be granted a 30-minute unpaid meal break if their shift lasts at least six hours under the state’s break laws.
Employees must be relieved of all job duties during the break. If an employee is required to stay on premises or on call, they must be paid for the entire duration of the break, and this time counts as work hours.
Employees can get additional meal breaks if their shift lasts 14 hours or longer. The number of required meal breaks depends on an employee’s total work hours (which excludes the time of an uninterrupted meal period):
| Employee’s Total Work Hours | Number of Required Meal Breaks |
| Less than 6 hours | 0 |
| 6 hours to 13 hours 59 mins | 1 |
| 14 hours to 21 hours 59 mins | 2 |
| 22 hours to 24 hours | 3 |
There are certain guidelines on when an employee should take the meal period based on their work shift, under Oregon break laws.
| Total Work Shift Hours | When to Take the Meal Break |
| 6 hours to 7 hours | Between the 2nd and 5th hour |
| More than 7 hours | Between the 3rd and 6th hour |
| 7 to 10 hours (for acute inpatient care employees) | Between the 3rd and 6th hour |
| 10 hours or more (for acute inpatient care employees) | Between the 3rd and 9th hour |
Exceptions to Meal Break Requirements in Oregon
There are a few exceptions to the 30-minute meal break rule in Oregon:
- Unexpected situations: The break could not be provided due to rare and unforeseen events, such as equipment failure or acts of nature.
- Established industry practice: The industry customarily provides a paid meal break shorter than 30 minutes, but not less than 20 minutes, with the employee fully relieved of duties.
- Undue hardship for the employer: If a 30-minute uninterrupted, unpaid break would seriously disrupt business operations, the employer may provide a shorter paid break that gives employees enough time to eat, rest, and use the restroom (in addition to the required rest periods). The employer must also give notice to employees affected by this undue hardship exception, as mandated by Oregon laws.
- Tipped food and beverage servers: Adult tipped servers may voluntarily waive their meal break if specific conditions are met, including a written waiver, the opportunity to eat during shifts of six hours or longer, payment for breaks when duties are performed, one uninterrupted meal break for shifts over eight hours, and proper employer recordkeeping and notice posting. Newly hired employees cannot waive their meal break until they have worked for at least seven days.
Breastfeeding Breaks in Oregon
Employers must provide reasonable breaks for employees to express milk for up to 18 months after childbirth, as mandated by Oregon law. The number, timing, and length of these breaks depend on the employee’s needs.
These breaks do not have to be paid unless they overlap with a regularly paid break. Employees are encouraged, but not required, to use their normal rest or meal breaks. Employers only need to pay for any portion that overlaps with paid break time.
Employers in Oregon must also provide a private space near the employee’s work area that is not a toilet stall or public restroom. Employees should be allowed to bring a cooler or use a workplace refrigerator to store expressed milk.
Employers with ten or fewer employees may be exempt if providing breastfeeding breaks would cause an undue hardship.
Additionally, Oregon employers must offer reasonable accommodations for pregnant and lactating employees, which includes providing more frequent or longer rest breaks.
Breaks for Minor Employees in Oregon
Minor employees are entitled to a paid 15-minute rest break for every four hours worked (or a major portion of four hours). They must also receive an unpaid 30-minute meal break when working shifts of at least six hours, regardless of the nature of the job.
Employers may be exempt from providing a meal break to minors aged 16 to 17 if the applicable meal break exceptions (outlined above) are met. However, minor employees aged 14 and 15 must always receive the required meal break.
Penalties for Violating Break Laws in Oregon
If an employer violates any meal and rest break rules, employees can file a complaint with the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industry. BOLI is authorized to assess and determine civil penalties against such employers.
Starting June 1, 2025, Oregon ORS 653.258 law allows the Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) to enforce break rules for most hospital employees, except those covered by a union agreement that already provides pay for missed breaks and certain acute-care nurses.
If a required meal or rest break is missed, hospital employees can now file a complaint with the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) within 60 days of the missed break. If a violation is found, the hospital must pay $200 per missed break.
Employees can also directly file a complaint with Oregon’s BOLI within two years of the missed break. If a violation is found, the employee may receive lost wages and penalty wages. BOLI may also order the hospital to pay civil penalties.
Another option employees have is to file a lawsuit within two years if they were not paid for the missed break.
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.
