Washington break, overtime and sick leave rules

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

The rules in Washington#

Meal breaks: A 30‑minute meal period when the work period exceeds 5 consecutive hours, given between the 2nd and 5th hour of the shift. Paid if the employee must stay on duty. An extra 30 minutes is due for working 3 or more hours beyond the regular workday.
Rest breaks: A paid 10‑minute rest period for each 4 hours worked, near the midpoint; no more than 3 hours of work without a rest period.
Overtime: 1.5 times the regular rate after 40 hours in a workweek. No daily overtime, double time or seventh‑day rule.
Paid sick leave: Employees earn at least 1 hour per 40 hours worked. The law sets no annual accrual cap; unused balances of 40 hours or less must carry over.

Oh! Thyme has a Washington 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 5
A second 30‑minute meal break that starts by the end of hour 11
A paid 10‑minute rest break for every 4 hours worked
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 Washington: the second meal 3 hours past the regular workday: the rule set checks it after 11 hours instead.