• Florida's laws regarding employee breaks tend not to provide payment to employees.Florida state contour with Capital City against blurred USA flag image by Stasys Eidiejus from Fotolia.com
  
  When it comes to time off, Florida law tends to look toward federal legislation. And unfortunately for employees, federal legislation regarding paid breaks is rather unfavorable to employees. For the most part, employees in Florida are not guaranteed any kind of break, including a lunch break, and pay is dictated predominantly by corporate policy.
  
  

Meal Breaks for Minors

• Under Florida law, those who are employed and are under the age of 18 are granted a paid meal break of 30 minutes as long as they are working for more than 4 hours continuously.
  
  

Non-minor Meal Breaks

• Florida law relies on federal labor laws regarding non-minor meal breaks. Under federal law, an employer does not have to grant an employee meal breaks at all. However, if the employer so chooses to grant a meal break, which is typically about 30 minutes long, then the employer does not have to pay the employee by law.
  
  

Non-minor Breaks

• For breaks other than meal breaks, Florida once again relies on the federal labor law statutes. These regulations do not require employers to provide employees breaks. However, if an employer chooses to grant employees breaks, typically ranging from 5 to 20 minutes, then the employer must pay the employee for this time.
  
  

Vacation and Sick Leave

• Regarding extended breaks from employment, such as vacation time or sick leave, Florida does not require employees to provide vacation or sick time. Therefore, this time off, if granted, does not have to be paid. However, if an employment contract is in place that specifies payment during such breaks, the employer must honor this contract.