What does the One Day Rest in Seven Act require?
Under the One Day Rest in Seven Act, every employer allows every employee, except those it lists, at least 24 consecutive hours of rest in every consecutive seven-day period4. Watchmen and security guards are on that list5.
An employee who is to work 7 1/2 continuous hours gets at least 20 minutes for a meal period, beginning no later than 5 hours after the start, plus 20 minutes for every additional 4 1/2 continuous hours2.
Before operating on Sunday, the employer posts who works that day and each employee's day of rest6. The Department's rule sets the deadline at 12:00 noon on the Friday before7.
This text does not constitute legal advice. Obligations vary by establishment and change over time. Confirm yours with the Illinois Department of Labor or a qualified advisor.
How many meal periods does a shift carry?
Type the continuous hours an employee is to work, and the start time if you want the clock time. The result counts the meal periods under the Department's FAQ reading of § 3, and when the first one has to begin28.
Type the continuous hours an employee is to work, in hours and quarters. This is the arithmetic of 820 ILCS 140/3, under the Department's FAQ reading named on this page. It does not apply under a union agreement that sets meal periods or to the on-call roles § 3 lists, and it does not say whether a schedule complies.
One reading shapes the count. § 3 adds a meal period “for every additional 4 1/2 continuous hours worked”2, and the Department of Labor says an additional 20-minute meal break must be permitted on a 12-hour shift or longer8. The Department's rule, in effect since January 31, 1979, requires the meal period “in each continuous 7½ hour period worked”910. The module follows the FAQ and counts the second meal period at 12 hours.
| Continuous hours in the shift | Meal periods of at least 20 minutes | The first begins no later than |
|---|---|---|
| Under 7 1/22 | none under § 3 | no rule in § 3 |
| 7 1/2 to under 1228 | 1 | 5 hours after the start2 |
| 12 to under 16 1/228 | 2 | 5 hours after the start2 |
| 16 1/2 to under 21 | 3 | 5 hours after the start2 |
| 21 to 24 | 4 | 5 hours after the start2 |
Rows and bounds from 16 1/2 hours are our arithmetic of § 3, with the same reading2.
What changes in the week?
When you build the schedule
The 24 consecutive hours of rest come in every consecutive seven-day period, in addition to the regular period of rest at the close of each working day4.
Before operating on Sunday, the employer posts in a conspicuous place a schedule of the employees required or allowed to work that day, designating the day of rest for each; no employee can be required to work on the day of rest designated for them6. The Department's rule sets the deadline at 12:00 noon on the Friday before, and charges a violation for each week the schedule is not posted that way7.
The Director of Labor grants permits for work on designated days of rest, but not for 7 days a week for more than 8 weeks in any one year, unless the Director finds the need cannot be remedied by adding employees or adjusting production schedules3.
Under the Department's rules, a permit is required for any week, counted Sunday to Saturday, in which a covered employee works all seven days1112. The written request states that all employees involved are volunteers and reaches the Director by the Friday before the permit starts13. The Department adds that permit work over forty hours a week is paid at the overtime rate1.
When people clock in and take breaks
The meal period is at least 20 minutes and begins no later than 5 hours after the start of the work period; each additional 4 1/2 continuous hours adds another 20-minute meal period2. Time spent using the restroom is not part of it14.
The Department of Labor says an employer may not force an employee to work through a meal break, and an employee who works through one must be paid8.
In the records
The employer keeps a time book with the names and addresses of all employees and the hours each worked on each day, open to inspection by the Director of Labor15. It also posts the Department's notice summarizing the Act, and gives it by email or on a website to employees who do not regularly report to a physical workplace16.
With a union agreement
The day of rest does not apply to employees whose work hours, days of work and rest periods are established through collective bargaining, and the meal period does not apply where meal periods are1718. The Department adds that where the agreement does not specify meal breaks or a day off, the Act's provisions apply19.
Watch for
- Who the day of rest leaves out. Part-time employees who work 20 hours or fewer for one employer in a calendar week, employees needed in a breakdown or other emergency, agriculture and coal mining, seasonal canning and processing of perishable agricultural products, watchmen and security guards, executive, administrative and professional employees, outside salesmen and supervisors, towing vessel crews, and employees whose hours, days and rest are set through collective bargaining17520. That list exempts them from § 2(a)'s 24 hours4; § 4, the Sunday schedule, has no list of its own6.
- Emergencies. The Department's rule says an emergency does not include calling in employees on their day of rest to replace those scheduled who fail to report for work21.
- Who the meal period leaves out. Employees whose meal periods are set by a union agreement, and two on-call roles that eat while on duty: staff who monitor individuals with developmental disabilities or mental illness, and private EMS licensees1822.
- Domestic workers. They also get 24 consecutive hours of rest in every consecutive seven-day period, and may agree to work that day if paid the overtime rate for all of its hours23.
- Hotel room attendants in Cook County. In a county of more than 3,000,000 people, a room attendant who works at least 7 hours gets two paid 15-minute rest breaks and a 30-minute meal period24. A missed break costs 3 times the regular hourly rate for that workday, and the employer keeps a record of the break periods24.
What does an employer have to be able to show?
The day of rest and the meal period are shown with the time book. For each person and each week, that means:
- The hours worked on each day, in a time book with every employee's name and address15.
- The Sunday schedule, with each employee's designated day of rest, posted by 12:00 noon on the Friday before67.
- Letters granting permits for work on designated days of rest, kept for two years325.
- For hotel room attendants in Cook County, a complete and accurate record of their break periods24.
An employer with fewer than 25 employees faces a penalty of up to $250 per offense to the Department and damages of up to $250 to the employee; with 25 or more, up to $500 each. Each week without the 24 hours and each day without the meal period is a separate offense, determined employee by employee26.
What does the Act leave open?
Which posts count as security guards. § 2(b)(5) exempts “Employees employed as watchmen or security guards” from the day of rest5. The Act's definitions section defines only “Employer”27. Whether a given role, such as a guard who also does other work, is one of them is a question for your counsel.
Whether guards are on the Sunday schedule. § 2(b) exempts guards from § 2(a)'s 24 hours54. § 4 tells every employer to post the employees who work Sunday and each one's day of rest6. The Department's rule excepts the § 2 exemptions only from the clause that no employee can be required to work on the designated day of rest28. Whether a guard roster still goes on the Sunday schedule is a question for your counsel.
How the seven-day period is counted. § 2(a) says “every consecutive seven-day period”4. The Department's rules, in effect since January 31, 1979, count a week from 12:01 A.M. Sunday to Saturday midnight and charge a violation for each week an employee works seven days of the calendar week without a permit101229. How those fit a rolling schedule is a question for your counsel.
Whether the first meal period breaks the count. § 3 adds a meal period “for every additional 4 1/2 continuous hours worked”2. It does not say whether those hours run from the start of the shift or from the end of the first meal period2. The Department's FAQ speaks of a 12-hour shift or longer, and its 1979 rule of a meal period in each continuous 7½ hour period8910. Confirm how your shifts are counted with your counsel.
What does the Act say exactly?
(a) Every employer shall allow every employee except those specified in this Section at least twenty-four consecutive hours of rest in every consecutive seven-day period in addition to the regular period of rest allowed at the close of each working day.
820 ILCS 140/2(b)(1), (8) part-time employees and union agreements
(b) Subsection (a) does not apply to the following: (1) Part-time employees whose total work hours for one employer during a calendar week do not exceed 20; and […] (8) Employees for whom work hours, days of work, and rest periods are established through the collective bargaining process
820 ILCS 140/2(b)(5) watchmen and security guards
(b) Subsection (a) does not apply to the following: […] (5) Employees employed as watchmen or security guards;
820 ILCS 140/2(b)(2)-(4), (6)-(7) the other exemptions
(b) Subsection (a) does not apply to the following: […] (2) Employees needed in case of breakdown of machinery or equipment or other emergency requiring the immediate services of experienced and competent labor to prevent injury to person, damage to property, or suspension of necessary operation; and […] (3) Employees employed in agriculture or coal mining; […] (4) Employees engaged in the occupation of canning and processing perishable agricultural products, if such employees are employed by an employer in such occupation on a seasonal basis and for not more than 20 weeks during any calendar year or 12 month period; and […] (6) Employees who are employed in a bonafide executive, administrative, or professional capacity or in the capacity of an outside salesman, as defined in Section 12(a)(1) of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, as amended, and those employed as supervisors as defined in Section 2(11) of the National Labor Relations Act, as amended; and […] (7) Employees who are employed as crew members of any uninspected towing vessel, as defined by Section 2101(40) of Title 46 of the United States Code, operating in any navigable waters in or along the boundaries of the State of Illinois; and
820 ILCS 140/3 meal periods
Every employer shall permit its employees who are to work for 7 1/2 continuous hours, except those specified in this Section, at least 20 minutes for a meal period beginning no later than 5 hours after the start of the work period. An employee who works in excess of 7 1/2 continuous hours shall be entitled to an additional 20-minute meal period for every additional 4 1/2 continuous hours worked.
820 ILCS 140/3 union agreements and meal periods
This Section does not apply to employees for whom meal periods are established through the collective bargaining process.
820 ILCS 140/3.1 hotel room attendants
(b) This Section applies only to hotels and other establishments licensed for transient occupancy that are located in a county with a population greater than 3,000,000. […] (c) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, every hotel room attendant shall receive a minimum of 2 15-minute paid rest breaks and one 30-minute meal period in each workday on which the hotel room attendant works at least 7 hours. An employer may not require any hotel room attendant to work during a break period. […] (e) Each employer of hotel room attendants shall keep a complete and accurate record of the break periods of its hotel room attendants. […] (f) An employer who violates this Section shall pay to the hotel room attendant 3 times the hotel room attendant's regular hourly rate of pay for each workday during which the required breaks were not provided.
820 ILCS 140/4 the Sunday schedule
Before operating on the first day of the week, which is commonly known as Sunday, every employer shall post in a conspicuous place on the premises, a schedule containing a list of his employees who are required or allowed to work on Sunday, and designating the day of rest for each. Anything in this Act to the contrary notwithstanding, no employee shall be required to work on the day of rest so designated for him.
820 ILCS 140/5 the time book
Every employer shall keep a time book showing the names and addresses of all employees and the hours worked by each of them on each day, and such time book shall be open to inspection at all reasonable hours by the Director of Labor.
820 ILCS 140/7 penalties
(a) Any employer who violates Sections 2, 3, or 3.1 shall be guilty of a civil offense, and shall be subject to a civil penalty as follows: (1) For an employer with fewer than 25 employees, a penalty not to exceed $250 per offense, payable to the Department of Labor, and damages of up to $250 per offense, payable to the employee or employees affected. (2) For an employer with 25 or more employees, a penalty not to exceed $500 per offense, payable to the Department of Labor, and damages of up to $500 per offense, payable to the employee or employees affected. (b) An offense under this Act shall be determined on an individual basis for each employee whose rights are violated. (1) Each week that an employee is found to not have been allowed 24 consecutive hours of rest as required in Section 2 shall constitute a separate offense. (2) Each day that an employee is found not to have been provided a meal period as required in Section 3 shall constitute a separate offense.
820 ILCS 140/8 permits
The Director of Labor shall grant permits authorizing the employment of persons on days of rest designated pursuant to Section 4 of this Act. Such permits shall not authorize the employment of persons for 7 days a week for more than 8 weeks in any one year, unless the Director finds that the necessity for employment of persons on their designated day of rest cannot be remedied by increasing the number of employees or by adjusting production schedules. The Director of Labor shall give due consideration to business necessity and economic viability in granting such permits.
56 Ill. Adm. Code 220.700 and 220.910 the Friday-noon posting deadline
Schedules required by Section 4 of the Act, (Illinois Revised Statutes, 1977, chapter 48, par. 8d) shall be posted not later than 12:00 noon on the Friday preceding the Sunday to be worked. […] One violation shall be charged for each week the schedule required by Section 4 of the Act, (Illinois Revised Statutes, 1977, chapter 48, par. 8D) is not posted as provided in Section 220.700.
56 Ill. Adm. Code 220.200 when a permit is required
a) A permit shall be required during any week in which one or more employees, not excluded in Section 2 of the Act, (Illinois Revised Statutes, 1977, Chapter 48, par. 8b), work all seven days of the week. b) Permits for eight weeks of the year shall be granted without justification of necessity.
56 Ill. Adm. Code 220.800 the 1979 meal-period rule
The meal period required in Section 3 of the Act, (Illinois Revised Statutes, 1977, Chapter 48, par. 8C) shall be required in each continuous 7½ hour period worked by an employee.
How does a system hold the day of rest?
The day of rest lands on the schedule and the timecard at the same time. This is how WorkAxle holds it:
- Daily and weekly hours, consecutive days and rest between shifts are set up as rules, each with its start date.
- While the schedule is built, the platform flags each shift that breaks one of those rules and names the rule. The supervisor decides.
- Each clock-in and clock-out is recorded with its time, and at the close of the period hours come out classified by your rules, ready for your payroll system.
The supervisor keeps the last word.
What can you check this week?
- Run last month's schedules and mark every employee the Act covers who went a consecutive seven-day period without 24 consecutive hours off451720.
- At each site, check the Sunday schedule names each employee's day of rest and went up by 12:00 noon on the Friday before67.
- Put your longest shift patterns through the module above and compare them with the meal periods on last week's timecards2.
- If any covered employee worked all seven days of a Sunday-to-Saturday week, find the Director's permit for that week1112.
Sending it to finance, operations or your counsel? The link opens this page, and the printed brief carries the rules, the dates and the sources.
This text does not constitute legal advice. Obligations vary by establishment and change over time. Confirm yours with the Illinois Department of Labor or a qualified advisor.
Frequently asked questions
What is the One Day Rest in Seven Act?
An Illinois law (820 ILCS 140) that requires every employer to allow every employee, except those it lists, at least 24 consecutive hours of rest in every consecutive seven-day period, and a meal period of at least 20 minutes on 7 1/2 continuous hours of work42.
Can an Illinois employer schedule someone seven days in a row?
Not if it leaves a covered employee without 24 consecutive hours of rest in a consecutive seven-day period, unless the Director of Labor grants a permit43. The Department's rules require a permit for any week, counted Sunday to Saturday, in which a covered employee works all seven days1112. The request states that the employees are volunteers13. How a rolling seven-day period is counted against that week is a question for your counsel.
Does the One Day Rest in Seven Act apply to security guards?
Not its 24 hours of rest: § 2(b)(5) exempts “Employees employed as watchmen or security guards” from § 2(a)54. The meal-period section lists its own exceptions, which do not name them1822. Whether guards still go on the Sunday schedule in § 4 is a question for your counsel6.
How long is the meal break in Illinois?
At least 20 minutes, beginning no later than 5 hours after the work period starts, for an employee who is to work 7 1/2 continuous hours, plus another 20 minutes for every additional 4 1/2 continuous hours2.
Does a 12-hour shift get two meal breaks in Illinois?
The Department of Labor says an additional 20-minute meal break must be permitted if working a 12-hour shift or longer8.
Does the One Day Rest in Seven Act apply to part-time employees?
Not its day of rest for part-time employees whose total work hours for one employer in a calendar week do not exceed 2017.
What is the penalty for violating the One Day Rest in Seven Act?
Up to $250 per offense to the Department and up to $250 in damages to the employee for an employer with fewer than 25 employees, and up to $500 each with 25 or more. Each week without the 24 hours and each day without the meal period is a separate offense26.
https://www.workaxle.com/compliance-center/united-states/illinois/one-day-rest-in-seven-act