Alabama: Meal & Rest Break Laws
Alabama meal-break law: No state law (FLSA). Rest-break law: No state law. Federal FLSA does not require meal or rest breaks for adult workers; the rules above are state additions on top of federal silence. Alabama wage-and-hour bulletin
The compensability question is separate from the requirement to provide the break. Under federal law, meal periods of 30 minutes or more during which the worker is fully relieved of duty are unpaid; rest periods of 20 minutes or less are paid. Alabama may layer additional protections — for example, paid rest break premiums when the break is denied or interrupted.
Use the ShiftClock break deduction calculator to model how meal periods affect a shift's gross pay, and the split-shift calculator if Alabama treats long meal gaps as a split shift trigger.
Across the ShiftClock directory, the rules in Alabama most often surface for workers on 12-hour rotations, split-shift transit and hospitality roles, and any 24/7 operation that pulls workers across the boundary between two pay periods. Match your schedule pattern in the schedules directory to see which calculators apply, then jump back here to confirm the Alabama-specific treatment. Where the rule references a dollar figure, remember that the Alabama 2025 minimum wage of $7.25 per hour anchors most premium and split-shift math.
If your employer disagrees with the calculation, document the schedule, the punches, and the pay-stub line items in writing before escalating. Alabama workers can file a wage claim with the state labor agency or the U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division when the dispute cannot be resolved internally. ShiftClock's guide directory walks through the paperwork and the typical timelines for a wage claim in plain language.