MA meal break: 30 min after 6 hours. Unpaid only if fully relieved.
Massachusetts requires a 30-minute meal break for any shift exceeding 6 hours under MGL c. 149 § 100 — a longer threshold than the 5-hour rule in California, Oregon, or Washington. The break can be unpaid only if the worker is fully relieved of duty for the full 30 minutes; if interrupted or working through, the time must be paid as working time. Massachusetts has no rest break law for adults — federal FLSA controls, paying short breaks (5-20 minutes) but allowing unpaid bona fide meal periods (30+ minutes). The Attorney General can grant exemptions for specific industries (utilities, security, certain continuous manufacturing) where breaks are infeasible.
Meal Break Workflow
Schedules 30-minute meal break for any shift exceeding 6 hours. Validates worker is fully relieved of duty for the break period. Surfaces interrupted or missed breaks as paid working time.
What those rules do as Massachusetts shifts are scheduled.
The hero card configuration: Block on missing scheduled break, Critical on interrupted break, Flag on industry exemption.
When a Massachusetts shift exceeds 6 hours and no 30-minute meal break is scheduled, the publish blocks. The shift card requires a meal break of at least 30 consecutive minutes within the shift before save can complete.
When a worker reports their meal break was interrupted (worker app attestation), Teambridge auto-converts the 30 minutes to paid working time. Pay processes on the regular paycheck. The conversion logs for audit defense.
Some industries (utilities, security, certain continuous-process manufacturing) have AGO-granted meal break exemptions. When a worker is in an exempt role, the standard rule doesn't apply — but the exemption documentation must be on file with effective dates.
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30 minutes after 6 hours, fully relieved or paid.
Massachusetts's meal break rule is straightforward — but the 'fully relieved of duty' standard creates the operational complexity. Workers who eat at their desk while answering questions are working, not on break.
30 minutes after 6 hours
Massachusetts requires a 30-minute meal break for any shift exceeding 6 hours. The break must be at least 30 consecutive uninterrupted minutes — no splitting into two 15-minute periods. The break should occur 'as nearly as possible at the regular meal hour' — typically mid-shift. Shifts of exactly 6 hours don't require a break; shifts of 6 hours 1 minute do.
Fully-relieved standard
The meal break can be unpaid only if the worker is fully relieved of all duty for the full 30 minutes. If the worker is interrupted (answering a call, helping a customer, monitoring something), the break is working time and must be paid. Federal regulation (29 C.F.R. § 785.19) sets the same standard. In practice: workers who eat at their desk while remaining 'on call' for questions are working, not on break.
Teambridge schedules breaks and validates the fully-relieved standard.
MA's meal break rule is structurally simpler than WA's Androckitis-shaped rule but the fully-relieved standard creates similar operational complexity around interruptions.
30-min break required for 6+ hour shifts.
When a Massachusetts shift over 6 hours is published, Teambridge validates that a 30-minute meal break is scheduled within the shift. Below-threshold shifts (≤6 hours) don't require breaks.
Worker confirms uninterrupted break.
At end of shift, the worker attests via the worker app: 'Did you receive a full 30-minute uninterrupted meal break?' Yes/No is logged with timestamp. Interrupted or missed breaks trigger working-time pay conversion.
30 min added to paid time.
If the worker reports interruption, the 30 minutes auto-converts to paid working time on the timesheet. The conversion logs the worker's attestation for audit defense.
AGO documentation on file.
Workers in roles with AGO-granted exemptions don't trigger the rule. The exemption documentation must be on file with effective dates and renewal alerts. Without documentation, standard rules apply.
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