Meal and Rest Break Requirements in Tennessee

At a glance

Requirements one by one

The six-consecutive-hour rule

Under Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-2-103(h), an employee scheduled for six consecutive hours generally must receive a 30-minute unpaid meal or rest period. The employer cannot place that period during or before the first hour of scheduled work. Tennessee requires no additional short rest breaks.

The ample-opportunity exception

The adult rule does not require a separately scheduled 30-minute period when the nature of the workplace already provides ample opportunity to rest or take an appropriate break. Current Department of Labor guidance gives food and beverage work and security-guard work as examples, but whether a particular job actually supplies ample opportunity depends on how the work is performed.

Pay and work during the break

Tennessee labels the required 30-minute period unpaid. That assumes the time is a real break. Under 29 C.F.R. § 785.19(a), an employee who must perform active or inactive duties while eating is not completely relieved from duty, so the period is worktime.

Workers under 18

Under Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-5-115, a minor scheduled for six consecutive hours must receive the same 30-minute unpaid break or meal period, not during or before the first hour. The Department's current child-labor page makes the youth rule stricter: neither the adult ample-opportunity exception nor the adult break waiver applies to an employee under 18.

What trips people up

The six hours must be consecutive. The statute does not use an ordinary total- hours-per-day trigger. It also does not allow the employer to schedule the required break in the first hour.

Tennessee's current complaint guidance says state law does not itself protect the employee's job merely because the employee filed a break complaint. Other anti-retaliation laws may apply on particular facts, but the break provision does not supply that protection by itself.

Common questions

Does Tennessee require paid 15-minute breaks?

No. Tennessee requires the 30-minute unpaid meal or rest period on the stated six-consecutive-hour schedule, but its labor department says there is no state requirement for additional breaks.

Can an employer use the ample-opportunity exception for a minor?

No. The current child-labor guidance says the exception and the adult waiver do not apply to employees under 18.

How can a worker report a denied break?

The Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development handles wage and break complaints. Its claim-process guidance says an unresolved matter may be forwarded to the central office for possible penalty assessment.

Statutes and sources

• Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-2-103(h). The current official Wage Regulations Act poster and agency guidance state the adult 30-minute/six-hour rule, first- hour restriction, ample-opportunity exception, and absence of extra rests. Official poster and official guidance (accessed July 12, 2026).
• Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-5-115. The current official child-labor page states the youth break schedule and excludes minors from the adult exception and waiver. Official guidance (accessed July 12, 2026).
• Tennessee DOLWD complaint guidance. The current official pages describe the break-complaint route, lack of break-specific job protection, and possible penalty assessment. Break complaint and claim process (accessed July 12, 2026).
• 29 C.F.R. § 785.19(a). The current federal rule requires complete relief from duty for a meal to be excluded from worktime. Current eCFR text (accessed July 12, 2026).