Employers are not required to give breaks to adult employees. If your employer allows breaks, and they last less than 20 minutes, you must be paid for the break. If your employer allows meal periods, the employer is not required to pay you for your meal period if it lasts more than 20 minutes and you do no work during that time. Employers are required to provide break periods of at least 30 minutes for minors ages 14 through 17 who work, or are scheduled to work, 6 or more consecutive hours.