Noonday Meal

• To qualify for a meal break in New York state, you must work at least a 6-hour shift. If that shift begins before 11 o'clock in the morning and extends past 2 o'clock in the afternoon, you are required to take a break. This is referred to as the noonday meal law. You must be allowed at least 30 minutes to eat between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.
  
  

Second Meal Break

• If you begin a shift before 11 o'clock in the morning that extends past 7 o'clock at night, you are granted a second meal break. This break must be at least 20 minutes long and occur between the hours of 5 o'clock and 7 o'clock at night, i.e., during the customary dinner hour. New York law requires you be paid for a break that is 20 minutes long or less.
  
  

Overnight

• Working an overnight shift grants you more meal time. If you work a shift of more than 6 hours, beginning after 9 o'clock at night and ending before 6 o'clock in the morning, you must be given a 45-minute meal break. This meal break must be taken sometime between the beginning and the end of the shift.
  
  

Factory Workers and Enforcement

• Meal times for factory workers are longer. Such workers receive 1 hour for the noonday and the overnight meal break. Not granting meal breaks is violation of state law. An employer can, however, apply to the state for permission to reduce break time or he can reduce it without application if he can prove it does not cause you hardship. If you are the only person working during a shift, for instance, you might be asked to eat while working.