New York break, overtime and sick leave rules

Meal and rest breaks, overtime and paid sick leave in New York, in plain words. Last reviewed October 31, 2026. Not legal advice.

The rules in New York#

Meal breaks: A 30‑minute noonday meal period for shifts over 6 hours that span the noon meal (1 hour in factories); an extra 20 minutes between 5 and 7 p.m. for shifts starting before 11 a.m. and running past 7 p.m.; and 45 minutes midway (1 hour in factories) for shifts over 6 hours starting between 1 p.m. and 6 a.m.
Rest breaks: No general paid rest break rule for adults.
Overtime: 1.5 times the regular rate after 40 hours in a workweek (residential live‑in workers after 44 hours). No daily overtime, double time or seventh‑day rule. A separate spread‑of‑hours rule adds 1 hour at minimum wage when the workday spans more than 10 hours or is a split shift.
Paid sick leave: Employees accrue at least 1 hour per 30 hours worked. Employers with 100 or more employees must provide up to 56 hours per year; 5 to 99 employees, up to 40 hours paid; 0 to 4 employees, up to 40 hours paid if net income exceeds $1 million, otherwise unpaid.

Oh! Thyme has a New York rule set, turned on for your company at setup. On every shift it checks:

Overtime after 40 hours in a workweek
A 30‑minute meal break that starts by the end of hour 6
Sick leave balances build from approved hours at the rate set for each person, such as 1 hour per 30 worked, stop at their cap, and come down when time off is approved.

A day that breaks a rule is flagged for the approver before the hours go to payroll.

Not checked in New York: