Employers in NYS must provide certain employees with at least 24 consecutive hours of rest in any calendar week. Employee meal breaks are required to be at least 30 minutes if an employee works six hours anywhere throughout New York state.Technically, you can't waive the lunch break as it's part of employment law in NY. You are required to have a 30 minute break for every 5.5 hours of work. If an employee is asked to work through their break, they must be compensated for it. Federal law does not require lunch or coffee breaks. A number of states require employers to provide meal breaks or rest breaks. In New York, employers are required to provide a meal break, but not rest breaks. Employers do not have to provide other "breaks", such as for "rest periods" or "coffee breaks. New York law does not require employers to give employees a rest break. A 30minute meal period is required for seasonal farm workers after 5 hours in Pennsylvania, and for migrant workers in Wisconsin after 6 hours.