Meal and Rest Break Requirements in Virginia

At a glance

Virginia's rule in practice

Virginia has no general meal-period or short-rest mandate for adult private- sector employees. The Department of Labor and Industry's current FAQ says an employer need not provide breaks or a meal period unless the employee is under 16.

The current statute is broader on its face. Va. Code § 40.1-80.1(B) says: "No child shall be employed or permitted to work for more than five hours continuously without an interval of at least 30 minutes for a lunch period." It also says a period shorter than 30 minutes does not interrupt continuous work. The subsection states no age ceiling. By contrast, the implementing nonagricultural and agricultural regulations, 16VAC15-40-30(B) and 16VAC15-40-40(C), expressly say "under 16."

That leaves an official-source conflict for 16- and 17-year-olds: the statute says no child, while the agency FAQ and regulations describe an under-16 line. The chapter itself calls a worker age 16 or 17 a child in Va. Code § 40.1-89. This page therefore does not narrow the lunch statute by inference. Employers and workers in that age band should confirm the Department's current enforcement position.

When an adult's employer voluntarily provides a break, federal pay rules apply. 29 C.F.R. § 785.18 makes short rests of 5 minutes to about 20 minutes paid time. § 785.19(a) permits an unpaid bona fide meal only when the employee is completely relieved from duty.

What trips people up

The statute-regulation mismatch matters. Subsection A of § 40.1-80.1 authorizes under-16 hours regulations, but subsection B separately states the lunch rule without an age qualifier. Reading only the regulations misses that broader statutory wording; reading only the FAQ misses it too.

The child-labor chapter also has statutory exemptions. Va. Code § 40.1-79.01 excludes specified domestic and occasional home work, legislative pages and clerks, volunteer emergency-medical activity, certain parent employment, parent-farm work, and qualifying content-creation work. Those chapter-level exemptions are distinct from 16VAC15-40-50, which describes exemptions from the under-16 regulatory hours limits.

Common questions

Must a Virginia employer give an adult lunch on an eight-hour shift?

No general Virginia law requires it. An employer policy, agreement, or a rule for a particular occupation may still provide one.

Does the statute cover a 16- or 17-year-old?

Section 40.1-80.1(B) says no child may exceed five continuous hours without the 30-minute lunch and gives no age ceiling. The DOLI FAQ and under-16 regulations state a narrower age line. Because those official sources conflict, confirm the Department's current enforcement position for a worker age 16 or 17.

Is a provided 15-minute break paid?

Yes. 29 C.F.R. § 785.18 treats a short rest of 5 minutes to about 20 minutes as hours worked.

What is the penalty for denying a covered child's lunch?

Under Va. Code § 40.1-113(A), an ordinary child-labor violation carries a civil penalty from $500 to $2,500. The ceiling rises to $25,000 when the violation results in a child being seriously injured or dying in the course of the employment.

Statutes and sources

• Va. Code § 40.1-79.01. The current statute lists child-labor chapter exemptions, including specified home, parent, farm, legislative, emergency- medical, referee, and content-creation work. Official text (accessed August 16, 2026).
• Va. Code § 40.1-80.1(B). "No child shall be employed or permitted to work for more than five hours continuously without an interval of at least 30 minutes for a lunch period." The subsection states no age ceiling. Official text (accessed August 16, 2026).
• Va. Code § 40.1-89. The chapter expressly refers to "a child sixteen or seventeen years of age" in its work-training rule. Official text (accessed August 16, 2026).
• 16VAC15-40-30(B), -40(C), and -50. The current official regulations set the under-16 lunch clocks and list exemptions. Nonagricultural rule and full chapter (accessed August 16, 2026).
• Va. Code § 40.1-113(A). The current official statute supplies the civil- penalty ranges for child-labor violations. Official text (accessed August 16, 2026).
• Virginia DOLI, Virginia Labor Laws FAQ. Current official guidance says employers need not provide breaks unless the employee is under 16, creating the conflict with § 40.1-80.1(B)'s unqualified child language. Official guidance (accessed August 16, 2026).
• 29 C.F.R. §§ 785.18-.19. The current federal rules treat provided short rests as paid time and require complete relief from duty for an unpaid bona fide meal. Short rests and meals (accessed August 16, 2026).