Waivers and exceptions
Employees may waive the meal period by agreement with the employer. A collective bargaining agreement takes precedence over the rule. Source: ndlegis.gov↗ (opens in a new tab)
Penalties
The rule sets no specific penalty; complaints go to the Department of Labor and Human Rights. Source: ndlegis.gov↗ (opens in a new tab)
The law and where to check
The law: N.D. Admin. Code 46-02-07-02(5) (opens in a new tab)
The agency: North Dakota Department of Labor and Human Rights (opens in a new tab)
What federal law says
Federal law does not require meal or rest breaks. If you give short breaks (about 5 to 20 minutes), they must be paid. Meal periods of 30 minutes or more can be unpaid if the employee is fully relieved of duty. Nursing employees get reasonable break time under the federal PUMP Act. Source: U.S. Department of Labor↗ (opens in a new tab) Source: U.S. DOL — PUMP Act↗ (opens in a new tab)
Meal and rest breaks checklist for North Dakota employers
A simple order of work, based on the rules above. It is not a legal checklist.
- Check which of your staff the break rules above cover, including minors.
- Build required meal and rest breaks into your schedules.
- Decide which breaks are paid and record them correctly in your timekeeping.
- Set up a private, non-bathroom space for nursing employees.
- Put your break policy in writing and share it with staff.
- Keep time records that show breaks were taken.
More North Dakota employment law guides
- All North Dakota employment laws
- North Dakota final paycheck law
- North Dakota paid sick leave law
- North Dakota overtime law
- North Dakota pay frequency law
- North Dakota vacation and PTO payout law
- North Dakota new hire reporting
- North Dakota at-will exceptions
Meal and rest breaks laws in other states
See every state on one page, or pick a state:
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- District of Columbia
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
Sources
All official government sources, last checked October 19, 2026.
- https://www.ndlegis.gov/information/acdata/pdf/46-02-07.pdf
- https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/state/rest-periods
- https://www.nd.gov/labor/wage-and-hour-topics/youth-employment
- https://www.ndlegis.gov/cencode/t23c12.pdf
- https://www.nd.gov/labor/wage-and-hour-topics
- https://www.dol.gov/general/topic/workhours/breaks
- https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/pump-at-work
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Last checked: . Every rule and source link on this page was checked against the official government source on this date. Laws change, so always open the source link before you act.