Federal lunch break laws What are the legal lunch break requirements? Breaks (hours of rest and eating) Time to eat. Employees are entitled to an uninterrupted duty-free lunch of at least 30 minutes if a shift works for more than five consecutive hours. Food discounts. rest periods. References Contact us. What is the law for lunch break?There are no food/lunch breaks. Your state may have laws requiring breaks, but the question doesn't specify a specific state. In general, the most...