Meal and Break Rules in Delaware

Employers in Delaware must comply with these state rules relating to meals and break times.

An employer in Delaware must provide an unpaid meal period of at least 30 minutes for employees who work seven and one-half or more consecutive hours in a day. The meal period must come after the first two hours of work and before the last two hours of work.

The meal period requirement does not cover teachers or employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement.

Exemptions may be granted when:

• compliance could compromise public safety
• only one employee is able to perform the duties of the job
• there are fewer than five employees on a shift
• the continuous nature of the employment requires employees to be poised to respond to work demands at all times and the employees are paid for their meal periods