• Texas laborers generally do not have a legal right to workday breaks.Oilfield Pump Jack in Texas Oil Patch image by Doodlebugs from Fotolia.com
  
  Texas state laws do not specifically address the issue of breaks during the workday. The lack of explicit laws generally leaves to the employer the question of what policy to implement regarding breaks. Federal laws, which apply in the absence of state laws, likewise do not mandate breaks, but do set standards for breaks if the employer offers them.
  
  

General Laws

• Texas labor laws make workday breaks--whether brief rest periods or longer meal periods--optional and at the discretion of the employer. Employers theoretically may require employees to work any number of consecutive hours without designating a break period, as long as employees receive compensation for all time they work. If employers allow breaks, they may stipulate all conditions such as length and frequency. Labor unions may negotiate the right to breaks in collective bargaining agreements on behalf of member employees.
  
  

Federal Guidelines

• The federal Fair Labor Standards Act imposes certain guidelines relating to compensation during workday breaks if the employer offers them. If the break period is no longer than 20 minutes, employees must receive pay for their time during the break. If the break is a full meal period of at least 30 minutes, the employer does not have to compensate employees. If employees have to stay on-site and perform work duties during the meal period, however, they must receive pay for their time.
  
  

Minors

• Unlike some states, Texas does not have specific break laws for employees under age 18. While minors face restrictions in the amount of hours they can work per day and week, especially when school is in session, state labor laws do not impose provisions regarding breaks for minors.
  
  

Nursing Mothers

• The Fair Labor Standards Act requires employers to allow new mothers time to periodically breast-feed their infant during the workday. This law applies during the first year of the newborn's life. The federal law stipulates that new moms must have a reasonable amount of privacy, including their own room, to perform breast-feeding. An exemption may apply to employers with fewer than 50 workers if they can show the requirement would cause "undue hardship" to their business. An employer does not have to pay women for their time during breaks they take to perform breast-feeding.