• State of Illinois labor laws for meal periods and breaks are in accordance with ODRISA.lunch wagon construction image by Greg Pickens from Fotolia.com
  
  The State of Illinois One Day Rest In Seven Act (ODRISA) provides information regarding employer responsibilities, employee meal periods, break periods, exemptions, special provisions and record-keeping. Failure of an employer to comply with state law can result in fines and legal action by the state or employee.
  
  

Application

• In accordance with the One Day Rest In Seven Act an employee who is required by an employer to work at least seven-and-a-half ongoing hours must be given an unwaged period of a minimum of 20 minutes for a meal, no more than five hours after commencing work.
  
  

Additional Provisions

• Employees who work as hotel room attendants, in a county with a population of more than 3,000,000, are entitled to at least two paid rest-breaks of 15 minutes and a meal period of 30 minutes during each seven-hour workday. Employers must make a room available for hotel room employees to go on their break periods. The room should have clean drinking water and adequate seating and tables. Employers must keep a record of break periods of hotel room attendants. Employees have the right to exercise their rights to take breaks without retaliation from the employer. Employees have the right to claim any damages resulting from being terminated due to a meal period or break dispute.
  
  

Exemptions

• ODRISA does not apply to employees whose meal periods have been determined by collective bargaining; or to employees who monitor persons with developmental disabilities and/or mental disorders, and are required to be on-call during a eight-hour period.