Wage and Hour Division says a 60-minute unpaid lunch break stays unpaid even with up to 14 minutes of required walking
As of our last check on November 2, 2026, this is agency guidance, not a rule. It explains how the agency reads the law and does not create a legal requirement on its own.
In short
- What changed
- The Wage and Hour Division (WHD) issued Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) opinion letter FLSA2026-11. It concludes that a 60-minute unpaid meal period stays unpaid when employees must walk 6 to 14 minutes to and from a designated break area, because they are relieved from duty and still have 46 to 54 minutes to eat.
- Who's affected
- The letter answers one employee's question about a detention facility's meal period. Its reasoning is relevant to employers covered by the FLSA that require non-exempt employees to travel to a set location for unpaid meal breaks.
- What to do
- This letter creates no new duties for employers. If you require employees to walk to a set area for unpaid meal breaks, consider checking that they are relieved of duty and still have enough time to eat after the travel.
What changed
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From the sourceOpening paragraphs
whether an uncompensated 60-minute lunch break, during which employees spend between six and 14 minutes walking to and from the employer’s designated break area, constitutes a bona fide meal period.
Also: Opening paragraphs
the meal period your employer provides is bona fide under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA or Act).
The WHD concluded that an unpaid 60-minute lunch break, during which employees spend 6 to 14 minutes walking to and from the employer's designated break area, is a bona fide meal period under the FLSA.
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From the sourceOpinion
This analysis focuses on relief from work and the sufficiency of time for the meal after mandatory travel time; the length of travel time is not itself determinative.
Also: Opinion
There is no indication that your employer requires employees to work while they are eating and it appears that employees are relieved from any work responsibilities during that time.
The WHD says its analysis looks at whether employees are relieved from work and whether enough time remains to eat after required travel. The length of the travel time is not itself the deciding factor.
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From the sourceOpinion
the 46 to 54 minutes available for employees after arriving at the break area is more than enough for the purpose of eating a meal.
Also: General Legal Principles
Typically, “30 minutes or more is long enough for a bona fide meal period.”
The 46 to 54 minutes left in the break area is more than enough time to eat, compared with the 30 minutes the WHD says is ordinarily long enough for a bona fide meal period.
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From the sourceOpinion
The Division—and most courts—reject the “complete relief from duty” standard and instead evaluate the compensability of meal periods under the predominant benefit test, although a few outliers continue to apply the former formulation.
The WHD says it, and most courts, reject a "complete relief from duty" standard for meal periods and use a predominant benefit test instead, though a few courts still apply the stricter standard.
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From the sourceOpinion
When employees need just a few minutes of travel time to access a break room or other location where they can eat their meal, that time is generally not compensable.
The WHD says a few minutes of travel to reach a break room or other place to eat is generally not paid time.
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From the sourceOpening paragraphs
Our analysis addresses only whether that time is compensable under the FLSA and not whether it is contractually sufficient under the CBA’s terms.
The letter does not decide whether the meal period meets the terms of the collective bargaining agreement. It addresses only whether the time is paid time under the FLSA.
Who is affected
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From the sourceBackground
You represent that you are employed as a security therapy aide (STA) at a detention facility
Also: Closing note
This opinion is based exclusively on the facts and circumstances described in your request
The letter answers one requester, an employee working as a security therapy aide at a detention facility, and is based only on the facts that requester described.
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Our analysisGeneral Legal Principles
If a meal period of facially sufficient duration is significantly reduced through travel time, frequent or lengthy interruptions, or restrictions, then that meal period or portions of it may be compensable.
The reasoning is most relevant to employers covered by the FLSA that give non-exempt employees unpaid meal periods and require them to eat at a specific location that takes time to reach.
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Our analysisFootnote 1
but see Mauia v. Petrochem Insulation, Inc., 5 F.4th 1068, 1073 (9th Cir. 2021)
Also: Footnote 1
Gelber v. Akal Sec., Inc., 14 F.4th 1279, 1281–82, 1286-87 (11th Cir. 2021) (applying the “completely-relieved-from-duty” test)
Employers whose cases would be heard by the federal courts of appeals for the Ninth or Eleventh Circuit may face a stricter test in court, since the letter notes those courts apply a "completely relieved from duty" standard.
What it means in practice
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Our analysisOpinion
This analysis focuses on relief from work and the sufficiency of time for the meal after mandatory travel time; the length of travel time is not itself determinative.
In the WHD's view, a long unpaid meal period can stay unpaid even when employees must walk to a designated eating area, as long as they are relieved of duty and ample time remains to eat.
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Our analysisGeneral Legal Principles
employer-mandated travel that took 12 minutes could allow a jury to find that the remaining 18 minutes was not a bona fide meal period, and that the district court could also consider on remand whether the travel time portion of the break was compensable.
Shorter meal periods with significant required travel carry more risk. The letter describes a court case where 12 minutes of travel in a 30-minute break could let a jury find the remaining 18 minutes was not a bona fide meal period.
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Our analysisGeneral Legal Principles
If employees are not relieved from duty during the meal period, then the time is ordinarily considered hours worked and compensable.
Meal time is not the only issue: if employees are not relieved from duty during the meal period, the WHD treats that time as ordinarily paid working time.
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Our analysisOpinion
While collective bargaining agreements cannot waive or reduce the Act’s protections, “nothing in the Act or the regulations . . . relieves employers from their contractual obligations under collective bargaining agreements.”
Meeting the FLSA does not settle meal break terms in a collective bargaining agreement. Those contract rights remain separate.
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Our analysisOpinion
This interpretation may be relied upon in accordance with section 10 of the Portal-to-Portal Act
Also: Closing note
This opinion is based exclusively on the facts and circumstances described in your request
The letter states it may be relied on under section 10 of the Portal-to-Portal Act, but it is tied to the requester's facts, so its value to another employer depends on how closely that employer's facts match.
What to do
AmendSignal analysis sorts these by whether this document changes them.
Already required
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From the sourceGeneral Legal Principles
The FLSA generally requires covered employers to pay all non-exempt employees at least the federal minimum wage for all hours worked.
Under the FLSA, covered employers must pay non-exempt employees at least the federal minimum wage for all hours worked. The letter describes this existing requirement; it does not create it.
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From the sourceGeneral Legal Principles
the Act requires payment “at a rate not less than one and one-half times the regular rate at which [the employee] is employed” to all non-exempt employees for all hours worked in excess of 40 hours in a workweek.
Under the FLSA, covered employers must pay non-exempt employees at least one and one-half times their regular rate for hours worked over 40 in a workweek. The letter describes this existing requirement; it does not create it.
Worth considering
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Our suggestionGeneral Legal Principles
If a meal period of facially sufficient duration is significantly reduced through travel time, frequent or lengthy interruptions, or restrictions, then that meal period or portions of it may be compensable.
If you require employees to eat at a designated area, consider measuring how long the walk takes each way and how much meal time remains after it, especially for meal periods of 30 minutes or less.
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Our suggestionGeneral Legal Principles
If employees are not relieved from duty during the meal period, then the time is ordinarily considered hours worked and compensable.
Consider confirming that employees on unpaid meal periods are actually relieved of work duties, and that supervisors do not ask them to work while eating.
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Our suggestionOpening paragraphs
Our analysis addresses only whether that time is compensable under the FLSA and not whether it is contractually sufficient under the CBA’s terms.
If a collective bargaining agreement sets meal break terms, consider reviewing those terms separately, since meeting the FLSA does not settle what the contract requires.
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Our suggestionOpinion
The Division—and most courts—reject the “complete relief from duty” standard and instead evaluate the compensability of meal periods under the predominant benefit test, although a few outliers continue to apply the former formulation.
If your workplaces fall within the Ninth or Eleventh Circuit, consider that courts there apply a stricter "completely relieved from duty" test than the one the WHD uses.
Open questions
The source leaves these open. We'll update this record if a later document answers them.
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How much required travel time would make a shorter meal period, such as 30 minutes, paid time?
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When required travel does make a meal period paid, is the travel time itself paid time?
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Does the WHD's conclusion hold for employers whose cases go to the Ninth or Eleventh Circuit courts of appeals?
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Can an employer whose facts differ from the requester's rely on this letter under the Portal-to-Portal Act?
Related changes
History
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FLSA2026-11: Whether an uncompensated 60-minute lunch break, during which employees spend 6 to 14 minutes walking to and from the employer designated break area, constitutes a bona fide meal period. Source (opens in a new tab)