Meal and lunch breaks in Oregon
Employees working 6 hours or more get an unpaid, duty-free 30-minute meal period. When the work makes it impossible to fully relieve the employee, the meal period must be paid.
Rest breaks in Oregon
Employees get a paid 10-minute rest break for every 4-hour work period (or major part of one), as close to the middle as practical. Rest breaks can't be added to the meal period or taken at the start or end of the shift.
Good to know
- Union-covered employees are excluded.
- Adults working alone in a retail or service business for less than 5 hours can be exempt from rest breaks.
What federal law says (applies in every state)
- Federal law doesn't require employers to give meal or rest breaks.
- If your employer does give short breaks (usually 5 to 20 minutes), they must be paid.
- Meal breaks of 30 minutes or more can be unpaid, but only if you're fully relieved of work. If you have to keep working while you eat, that time must be paid.
- Most employers must give reasonable break time and a private space (not a bathroom) for nursing employees to pump breast milk for up to a year after a baby's birth.
Work out your hours
Use the Lunch Break Calculator to see your hours worked after an unpaid lunch, or the Timesheet Calculator to add up your week.
Please note: This page is a plain-English summary for adult (18+) private-sector employees, last checked October 2026. Workers under 18, government employees and union members often have different rules. Laws change, so for an official answer check with your state labor department. This isn't legal advice.