Human Resources

Meal periods and rest periods

Last updated: January 9, 2025

Overview

Washington state law and regulations require employers to provide meal and rest periods for all overtime-eligible employees, including staff and student employees, and include specific requirements for certain health care facility employees. University departments are responsible for complying with state law and UW collective bargaining agreements that specifically vary from or supersede the rules regarding meal and rest periods.

State and federal laws regarding meal and rest periods do not apply to overtime-exempt employees.

Return to top

Meal periods for overtime-eligible employees

Unpaid meal periods

Overtime-eligible employees working more than five consecutive hours in a work shift are entitled to an unpaid meal period of at least 30 minutes, starting between the second and fifth hour of their work shift.
Employees working three or more hours longer than their scheduled shift are entitled to at least one additional unpaid 30-minute meal period prior to or during the overtime period.

Employees can only be required to remain on the premises or work site during their meal period if they are completely free from work duties. If an employee is free from all duties during their entire meal period, it is not considered hours worked and is not a paid meal period.

Paid meal periods

Employees must be paid for meal periods if they are:

  • Required to remain on duty;
  • Required to remain on-call on the premises or at the work site, even if they are not called back to duty; or
  • Called back to work, interrupting the meal period.

If work is performed during a meal period, it is considered hours worked when calculating paid sick time off and overtime.

Additional requirements for certain medical centers employees are described below.

Return to top

Rest periods for overtime-eligible employees

Overtime-eligible employees are entitled to a paid rest period of at least 15 minutes for every four hours of working time. Contract covered employees should check their collective bargaining agreement for additional paid rest period provisions.

Rest periods are to be scheduled as near as possible to the midpoint of the work period. No overtime eligible employee can be required to work more than 3 hours without a rest period. Where the nature of work allows employees to take intermittent rest periods equal to 15 minutes for each four hours worked, scheduled rest periods are not required.

Additional requirements for certain medical centers employees are described below.

Rest breaks for lactation

The UW is committed to supporting nursing employees by maintaining lactation spaces at its campus locations and medical centers and by providing reasonable accommodation of pregnancy and related conditions. Overtime eligible employees can use established meal and rest period time to express milk. While units are not required to pay employees for additional time outside the meal and rest periods, units are required to provide a flexible schedule to accommodate the employee’s medical needs. More information about lactation spaces and amenities is available at UW Worklife.

Return to top

Additional requirements for medical centers employees

Effective July 1, 2024, a new state law created additional requirements for meal and rest breaks for certain healthcare workers. The new provisions apply to employees at UW Medical Center and Harborview Medical Center who receive an hourly wage and/or are covered by a collective bargaining agreement and who are also involved in direct patient care and/or clinical services.

Please see the list of job profiles that are covered by this new law.  (Medical Centers employees will need an AMC login to view this list.)

 What does the law require?

Covered employees should take scheduled and uninterrupted 15-minute rest breaks every four hours and a 30-minute meal break every five hours. With a voluntary signed waiver, employees can choose to request alternative timing for their breaks, waive their second meal period (for 10+ hour shifts) and bundle meals and breaks. Waivers need to be reviewed and approved by managers.

Exceptions for meal/rest break interruptions:

  • An unforeseeable emergent circumstance, such as during a declared emergency, when the disaster plan is activated or when a catastrophic event substantially increases the need for healthcare services.
  • An unforeseeable clinical circumstance that may lead to a significant adverse effect on the patient’s condition — as determined by the employee or by UW Medicine.

Impacted employees should refer to the medical center’s HR webpages on Meal and Rest Break Resources for full details. Represented employees should refer to their current collective bargaining agreements.

Return to top

Forms

Return to top

Resources

Return to top