Meal and Rest Break Requirements in Colorado
At a glance
| Governing law | Colorado COMPS Order #40, 7 CCR 1103-1, Rule 5 (effective Feb. 1, 2026) |
|---|---|
| Required meal break | 30 uninterrupted duty-free min when shift exceeds 5 consecutive hours; as practical, ≥1 hour after start and ≥1 hour before end (Rule 5.1) |
| Required paid rest break | Paid 10 min per 4 hours or major fraction: 0 at ≤2 hrs; 1 at >2-6; 2 at >6-10; then +1 each 4 hrs (Rule 5.2) |
| Paid or unpaid? | Duty-free meal may be unpaid; impractical on-duty meal is paid; rest periods are paid time worked, and denied rest time requires extra wages (Rules 5.1, 5.2) |
| Waiver and on-duty meals | No general meal waiver; if uninterrupted meal is impractical, employee must be allowed to eat on duty with pay; employee may voluntarily and without coercion decline a rest |
| Who is covered or exempt | COMPS covers Colorado private-sector employees unless Rule 2 exempts them; executive/supervisor, administrative, professional, and listed occupation-specific exemptions may remove meal/rest rights |
| Separate rule for minors | No separate stricter general clock; covered minors receive the same COMPS meal and paid-rest periods as other covered employees |
| Remedy for a missed break | Denied rest time is unpaid work recoverable through Division complaint or civil action with fees; compliance orders and fines also available (Rules 5.2, 8.1-.4) |
Requirements one by one
Meal period
Under COMPS Order #40, 7 CCR 1103-1, Rule 5.1, a covered employee on a shift over five consecutive hours receives at least 30 uninterrupted, duty-free minutes. As far as practical, the meal must begin at least one hour after the shift starts and end at least one hour before it ends.
The meal may be unpaid only when the employee is completely relieved of duty and allowed to use the time for personal activities. If the nature of the work makes an uninterrupted meal impractical, the employer must allow the employee to eat while working and pay for that time.
Paid rest periods
Rule 5.2 requires paid 10-minute rest periods on a stepped clock:
- up to 2 hours: none;
- over 2 through 6 hours: one;
- over 6 through 10 hours: two;
- over 10 through 14 hours: three; and
- one more for each additional four-hour band.
Rest time counts as hours worked for minimum wage and overtime. The rest need not be offsite, but must be free of work and should fall near the middle of the work period when practical.
Missed-rest pay
Colorado treats a denied rest as extra work, not merely a scheduling defect. Official Division guidance explains that an employee paid for an eight-hour shift without receiving two 10-minute rests has performed 20 additional minutes of work. That time must be paid at the applicable straight-time or overtime rate.
What trips people up
The current order is COMPS Order #40. It was adopted December 8, 2025 and took effect February 1, 2026. A proposed version stated a January effective date; the adopted Rule 1.1 controls.
Paying extra does not authorize an employer to abolish rest periods. The employee must actually be allowed to rest unless the employee voluntarily and without coercion chooses not to take the rest. Meals work differently: when a duty-free meal is genuinely impractical, Rule 5.1 expressly permits a paid on-duty meal with permission to eat.
Coverage and exemptions also differ by job. COMPS broadly covers private-sector employees, but Rule 2 exempts qualifying executive/supervisor, administrative, and professional employees and supplies narrower occupation-specific exemptions. Some exemptions remove overtime only while leaving meal and rest rights intact, so the particular Rule 2 provision matters.
Common questions
How many rests are required on an eight-hour shift?
Two paid 10-minute rests, because an eight-hour shift falls in the over-6- through-10-hour band. A separate 30-minute meal is also required because the shift exceeds five consecutive hours.
Can a Colorado employer make the meal unpaid if I must monitor work?
No. An unpaid meal must be uninterrupted and duty-free. If work makes that impractical, the employer must let you eat while working and pay for the time.
How can missed-rest wages be recovered?
Under COMPS Rule 8.1(A), an employee may use a Division administrative complaint or a civil action for unpaid compensation; the civil remedy includes reasonable attorney fees and court costs. Rule 8.2 generally uses a two-year filing period, extended to three years for a willful violation.
Statutes and sources
- COMPS Order #40, 7 CCR 1103-1. The current official order establishes coverage, exemptions, meal/rest rights, and enforcement. Secretary of State rule PDF and CDLE adopted PDF (accessed July 12, 2026).
- 2026 COMPS Order Poster. The current official notice states the Rule 5 meal clock, full rest table, paid-time rule, and denied-rest pay consequence. Official poster (accessed July 12, 2026).
- Colorado DLSS INFO #4. Current official guidance explains on-duty meals, rest timing, missed-rest wage calculations, compliance orders, and fines. Official guidance (accessed July 12, 2026).
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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