Are employees entitled to a lunch hour and two 15-minute breaks during each shift? Federal law does not require lunch or coffee breaks.When employers provide employees rest breaks that last 20 minutes or less, federal law requires that those breaks be paid. Hour lunch break is required after the first two hours and before the last two hours of any shift lasting seven and a half hours or more. Rest breaks usually last about five to 20 minutes. Again, include rest breaks in the total time an employee works if you offer them to employees. Texas has no general law requiring lunches or breaks no matter how many hours are worked. State law requires a paid 10 minute break every 4 hours of work and an unpaid 30 minute meal break every 5 hours of work. Federal labor law doesn't mandate meal or rest breaks, but many states have laws requiring employers to provide breaks. Bona fide meal periods (typically 30 minutes or more) generally need not be compensated as work time.