What is the law concerning rest breaks?

In Maine, all employers are required to provide their employees with rest breaks. The law states that employers must allow rest breaks of at least 10 minutes to employees who are working more than four hours in a work shift. The breaks must be provided at regular intervals, and the employee must be given the opportunity to take the break without any work-related duties. Employers cannot make any deductions from employees’ wages for taking the rest break, and they cannot require employees to remain at their workstations during their breaks. Moreover, employers must allow employees to leave their workstations during their breaks and employers are not allowed to use the breaks as a means of discipline or to threaten employees. Employers have an additional obligation to provide employees with meal breaks of at least 30 minutes, if the employee is working more than six consecutive hours. This meal break should not be interrupted unless the employee requests to resume work. Just like with rest breaks, employers must not deduct employees’ wages for taking the meal break, and they must allow employees to leave their workstations during the meal break. Employers are also prohibited from requiring employees to work for more than five consecutive hours without taking a rest break. If employees do work for more than five consecutive hours, they must be provided with an additional rest break of at least 10 minutes. This additional break must also be provided without any deductions from wages.

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What is the law concerning rest breaks?

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