These rules are part of Illinois employment law, which covers wages, leave, and working-time protections across the state. This article explains the two core break rights under the One Day Rest in Seven Act, the meal period and the weekly day of rest, along with the narrower rules for hotel room attendants and minors, and what happens when an employer ignores them.
Meal breaks: the 20-minute rule
Illinois’s meal break rule sits in Section 3 of the One Day Rest in Seven Act. Under 820 ILCS 140/3, an employer must permit any employee who is scheduled to work 7.5 continuous hours or more a meal period of at least 20 minutes, and that meal period must begin no later than 5 hours after the shift starts.
A 2023 amendment added a second layer for longer shifts. Under the same section of 820 ILCS 140/3, an employee who works more than 7.5 continuous hours is entitled to an additional 20-minute meal period for every additional 4.5 continuous hours worked. A worker on a 12-hour shift, for example, is owed a second 20-minute meal period during the day.
The meal period is meant to be duty-free. Time spent using the restroom does not count toward it, and an employer may not require an employee to work during the break. Federal wage rules treat a short break differently from a true meal period: the U.S. Department of Labor counts breaks of roughly 5 to 20 minutes as paid work time, so an employee kept on duty through a required break is generally owed pay for that time.
The day of rest: 24 hours in every seven-day period
The Act’s original purpose was a guaranteed day off. Under 820 ILCS 140/2, every employer must allow every employee at least 24 consecutive hours of rest in every consecutive seven-day period, on top of the daily rest at the close of each work day.
Before 2023, that rest was measured against the calendar week, which let some schedules stack many consecutive days across two different weeks. The current text of 820 ILCS 140/2 measures it against any rolling seven-day period instead.
An employee may agree to work a seventh day, but the arrangement is regulated. An employer can apply to the Department of Labor for a permit allowing seventh-day work, and hours over 40 in a week are paid at the overtime rate. Not every worker is covered: 820 ILCS 140 exempts several groups, including part-time employees whose total weekly work does not exceed 20 hours, employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement that provides for meal periods, and certain executive, administrative, and professional employees.
What Illinois does not require
Illinois does not give most adult workers a right to a paid 10- or 15-minute rest break. The One Day Rest in Seven Act guarantees the meal period and the weekly day of rest, not periodic short breaks. Federal law is the same on this point: the U.S. Department of Labor states that federal law does not require lunch or coffee breaks at all.
When an employer chooses to offer short breaks anyway, those breaks are generally paid. Federal regulations count rest periods of roughly 5 to 20 minutes as hours worked (29 CFR 785.18), while a bona fide meal period is not paid time. Offering short breaks, though, remains optional for most jobs. Reasonable restroom access is handled separately: ODRISA treats restroom time as work time rather than as part of the 20-minute meal period, so it is not deducted from the break.
Special rules: hotel room attendants and minors
Two groups have stronger break rights than the general rule.
Hotel room attendants, the workers who clean or make up guest rooms, are covered by a special provision in 820 ILCS 140/3. On any workday of at least 7 hours, a hotel room attendant must receive two 15-minute paid rest breaks and one 30-minute meal period, and cannot be required to work during a break. The employer must also keep a room with adequate seating, tables, and free drinking water available for those breaks. An employer that fails to provide the required breaks owes the attendant three times their regular hourly rate for each workday the breaks were missed.
Minors have their own meal rule. Under the Child Labor Law of 2024, a minor may not work 5 hours continuously without a meal period of at least 30 minutes, set by 820 ILCS 206. That rule sits alongside the Act’s limits on the hours and times minors may work.
Penalties and how the law is enforced
The Department of Labor enforces ODRISA, and the penalties changed in 2023 to scale with the size of the employer.
For an employer with fewer than 25 employees, a violation carries a civil penalty of up to $250 per offense payable to the Department, and damages of up to $250 per offense payable to the affected employee. For an employer with 25 or more employees, both figures rise to $500 per offense. Each week that a day-of-rest violation continues counts as a separate offense, and each day a required meal period is denied counts as a separate offense. These amounts are set by 820 ILCS 140.
A worker who believes a break right was denied can file a complaint with the Department.
Gather schedule and time records
Collect shift times, clock-in and clock-out records, and any schedule showing long shifts without a meal period, or seven straight days worked without a day of rest. Specific dates and hours make the complaint easier to review.
File a complaint with the Illinois Department of Labor
Submit the complaint to the Department’s Fair Labor Standards Division, which handles ODRISA cases. Include the records gathered and the name and address of the employer.
Respond to the Department's review
The Department reviews the complaint, may contact the employer for records, and determines whether penalties and damages apply under the size-based schedule.
Frequently asked questions
Does Illinois require a 15-minute break?
Not for most adult workers. The One Day Rest in Seven Act requires a meal period and a weekly day of rest, but no general paid rest break. The exception is hotel room attendants, who are entitled to two 15-minute paid rest breaks on any workday of at least 7 hours under 820 ILCS 140/3.
Is the 20-minute meal break paid?
ODRISA does not require the meal period to be paid when the employee is fully relieved of duty. Federal rules draw the line at the length and nature of the break: a bona fide meal period is unpaid, but a short break, or a meal period the employee has to work through, is treated as compensable time by the U.S. Department of Labor.
What if a shift is shorter than 7.5 hours?
The ODRISA meal-period requirement applies to shifts of 7.5 continuous hours or more. A shift shorter than that does not trigger the 20-minute meal period under 820 ILCS 140/3, although an employer can still offer breaks voluntarily.
Can an employee work seven days in a row in Illinois?
Section 2 of the Act entitles every covered employee to 24 consecutive hours of rest in each seven-day period. An employee can agree to work a seventh day only where the employer holds a permit from the Department of Labor for that arrangement, and hours over 40 in the week are paid at the overtime rate.
Do these break rules cover salaried or exempt employees?
Not all of them. The Act exempts several categories, including part-time employees who work 20 hours or fewer per week, employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement that provides meal periods, and certain executive, administrative, and professional employees. The full list of exemptions is in the text of 820 ILCS 140.