Understand Break Rules and Compliance

Changelog:

• v4 (May 5, 2026): Added note that Settings → Breaks shows a Coming Soon preview as of the live UI walk (2026-05-02). Break-rule configuration today is via support ticket, not self-serve from Settings. Source: F-58.
• v3 (April 24, Turn 27): Flag 24 enrichment. Added the default rule (5+ hour shift = one 30-minute break) and the explicit four configurable factors (shift length, multiple breaks, break length, rest periods). Three-state color system (Red/Green/Blue) documented. Break Report access path confirmed (Team tab, Break Report button at top right). Resolved VERIFY block on team member profile Breaks tab. Added cross-reference to Understand Break Rules for Complex States bonus article (CA, CO, FL, OR, NJ, NY, UT, WA).
• v2 (April 24, earlier): Resolved most v1 VERIFY blocks.
• v1: Initial scaffold.

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At a glance

Breaks in OneClick are time-off-the-floor records that track when a team member is not working during their scheduled shift. OneClick records breaks so labor reports reflect actual worked hours, break usage is auditable through the Break Report, and coverage gaps during breaks are visible on the Shifts screen. This reference covers what the Breaks module does, where break configuration lives, and where operator responsibility begins and ends on compliance.

Before you start

This is a reference article. Read it once, return when needed. For the in-shift workflow, see Record a Break for a Team Member; for post-shift review, see Use the Break Report; for state-specific break rule templates, see Understand Break Rules for Complex States.

Core reference content

What the Breaks module does

OneClick tracks breaks along three dimensions:

1. Start and end times. Captured from when the break button is pressed in-shift, not from clock-out and clock-in. Duration is the elapsed time between the two button presses.
2. Break length category. Ten-minute and thirty-minute breaks are distinct tracked categories, configurable and filterable in the Break Report.
3. Paid versus unpaid. Whether a break is included in paid hours. [VERIFY: confirm whether paid/unpaid is a per-break-rule configuration or a per-break flag at recording time.]

These feed labor reports, payroll attribution, and the Break Report's compliance view.

The three-state color system

Break indicators on the Shifts screen and Lineup follow a three-state cycle:

1. Red. Has not taken break. The full red bar or red-background icon on the team member's card.
2. Green. On break. Running-man icon, countdown timer running.
3. Blue. Break taken. Completed state; the indicator stays blue for the rest of the shift unless another break is configured.

Each click of the indicator advances to the next state. For team members with multiple breaks in a shift, the indicator cycles through each break in order before returning to a done state.

Where breaks live in the product

Shifts screen, two in-shift surfaces. The real-time surface for starting and ending breaks during a shift. Two tracking methods that produce the same result:

1. On the Layout. Press the team member's name card to advance their break state.
2. On the Lineup, via Break Manager. Click Break Manager on top of the right lineup column. Each team member card shows time-stamped break boxes (for example, 10m, 30m, 10m). Press boxes to advance.

See Record a Break for a Team Member.

Break Report, under the Team tab. The post-shift review surface. Access by clicking the Team tab in the left menu, then Break Report at the top right of the page. Shows eligibility, unused, and excess for each team member for each shift. Supports editing recorded break times, filtering by break length or by threshold, and exporting to CSV for outside use. See Use the Break Report.

Team member profile, Breaks tab. Break history appears on the team member's record. Access by opening the team member's profile and clicking Breaks; expanding a shift shows the individual breaks and the Manage Breaks action for correcting errors.

Settings, Breaks panel. The Settings area includes a Breaks panel (Settings → Breaks). As of the live UI walk conducted on 2026-05-02, this panel shows a Coming Soon preview. break-rule configuration is not yet available as a self-serve Settings surface. To configure custom break rules for your store (threshold, multiple breaks, break length, rest periods), submit a support ticket as described in the "Break rules and who owns them" section below.

Break rules and who owns them

Break rules are the policies that define when breaks are required, how long they must be, and whether they are paid. These come from three sources, and OneClick's role is narrower than it might initially appear.

1. Federal, state, and local labor law. Minors under 18, shifts over a certain length, specific industries. Non-negotiable and varies by jurisdiction. Not tracked or enforced by OneClick unless the operator has specifically requested rules for those cases.
2. Your store's operating policy. Additional rules above the legal minimum, for example a standing fifteen-minute rest break at a given shift length.
3. OneClick's configured rules. Whatever has been programmed per your store's request.

Default rule applied to every store: a single 30-minute break for any shift of five or more hours.

Configurable factors above the default: stores can request customization on four specific factors by submitting a support ticket. The Settings → Breaks panel is not yet self-serve; contact support to configure.

1. Shift length. The threshold at which breaks are required.
2. Multiple breaks. Whether a shift can have more than one break (for example, two rest breaks and one meal break on a long shift).
3. Break length. The minutes allowed for each break type.
4. Rest periods. Spacing requirements between breaks.

OneClick is tracking-only, not enforcement-based. It does not automatically know the labor laws in your jurisdiction or the ages of your team members. Per the source guidance: OneClick only programs what each operator requests it to track for local, state, and federal labor law compliance. It is not OneClick's responsibility to keep up with law changes. Each operator is responsible for informing OneClick of any changes they want tracked.

In practice this means two things. First, breaks per employee, age-based rules, and similar tracking are available but must be specifically requested and configured for each store. Second, compliance itself is the operator's responsibility even where OneClick is tracking. OneClick helps track, flag, and audit; it is not a guarantee of compliance.

Complex-state templates

For stores in jurisdictions with more involved break requirements (California meal-and-rest-break rules, Oregon labor code, and so on), OneClick has template rule sets documented for CA, CO, FL, OR, NJ, NY, UT, and WA. These templates reflect rules that other stores in those states have requested; they are not OneClick's legal opinion on what the law requires. To use a template, submit a support ticket and ask to configure your store with the relevant state template, customized as needed.

See Understand Break Rules for Complex States for the California table (rest periods, meal breaks, default and alternate break sequences, break windows per hour, padding rules, and 75-minute spacing rules) and summaries for the other seven states.

Minors and age-based requirements

Team members under 18 typically have stricter break requirements under labor law. OneClick can be configured to track age-based rules if your store has requested it. If age-based rules have not been explicitly set up for your store, OneClick does not apply them automatically.

Until age-based rules are confirmed to be configured for your store, treat OneClick as tracking-only for minor breaks and ensure your store's scheduling practice enforces required breaks independently.

The Shifts screen shows age indicators on team member cards: "M" for ages 16-17, "m" for ages 15 and under. This is informational for leaders; it does not itself trigger rule enforcement.

How breaks affect the schedule

Breaks create coverage gaps. A team member on break is not at their position. The Shifts screen shows current break status via the in-shift indicators, which lets a leader stagger breaks and maintain coverage on key positions.

Break scheduling is a leader's real-time judgment call. [VERIFY: whether OneClick supports pre-scheduling breaks as part of the shift layout, or whether all break recording is real-time. Source PDF suggests all recording is real-time; no pre-scheduling feature is documented.]

How breaks interact with other modules

Shifts. Breaks happen during shifts and the in-shift indicators live on the Shifts screen.

Layouts. A team member on break is temporarily off their layout position. No layout change is recorded; the position is just uncovered for the break duration.

Clocking systems. OneClick Breaks are separate from clocking systems. Team members still clock in and out using their regular system (HotSchedules, a POS clock, or similar). OneClick Breaks are leader-tracked only and do not affect clocking records.

Infractions. A pattern of missed breaks, excessive breaks, or break-timing violations might feed an infraction record. The connection is leader judgment, not automated.

Permissions. Recording breaks in-shift, editing breaks in the Break Report, and exporting break data each require permissions. [VERIFY: which labels.]

Video

Not planned.

Common gotchas

A team member's paid hours are lower than I expected.

Breaks are deducted from worked hours if they are unpaid. Check the team member's Break Report for the day and confirm both the duration and the paid/unpaid treatment for that break type.

A break was recorded with a duration much longer than the actual break.

Most common cause is a break that was started but never ended, so the timer kept running. Open the team member's profile, click Breaks, expand the shift, and use Manage Breaks to set the duration to the correct value. Or open the Break Report for that day and correct from there.

OneClick did not flag a required break for a minor.

OneClick tracks age-based rules only if your store has specifically configured them. If that is not set up, the product has no way to know the team member is a minor or what rules apply. Use your store's scheduling practice as the primary control; request age-based rule configuration if OneClick should help track. The "M" and "m" age indicators on the Shifts screen are informational only.

A break ran longer than the store's policy allows.

OneClick records the actual recorded duration, which matches button press to button press. It is not going to retroactively trim the break. If policy was violated, that is a coaching conversation or a potential infraction, depending on the cause. The Break Report's excess column makes these cases easy to spot across the team.

Two reports show different totals for the same team member's break hours.

Date range mismatch, filter mismatch, or paid/unpaid categorization difference. Confirm both reports span the same dates, use the same filters, and handle paid/unpaid the same way.

A team member's break data is missing from the Break Report.

Confirm the time range includes the shift, confirm no active filter is hiding them, and confirm the break was actually pressed in OneClick during the shift. Breaks that were physically taken but never recorded via the in-shift indicator will not appear in the report automatically; they need to be added through the Manage Breaks flow on the team member's profile or the Break Report.

I want to configure break rules from Settings but see a Coming Soon page.

Break-rule configuration (beyond the default 30-minute break for 5+ hour shifts) is not yet available as a self-serve Settings surface. Submit a support ticket and describe the break rules you need configured for your store. threshold, multiple-break support, break length, rest-period spacing. Support will configure these on your account.

I want OneClick to enforce break rules, not just track them.

Enforcement-based break rules are not the current product model. OneClick is tracking-only. The store's scheduling and leadership practice carries enforcement. If enforcement behavior is something your store needs, submit feedback to OneClick; it is not in the current product surface.

I am in a complex state (CA, NY, OR, etc.) and the default rule is not enough.

See Understand Break Rules for Complex States for the state-specific templates. Request template configuration through a support ticket.

Related articles

1. Record a Break for a Team Member (How-To Guides)
2. Use the Break Report (How-To Guides)
3. Understand Break Rules for Complex States (Reference). CA, CO, FL, OR, NJ, NY, UT, WA templates.
4. Understand the Shifts Screen (Reference). Shift layout is where break indicators appear.
5. Understand Permission Levels (Reference)
6. Request a Permission Change (How-To Guides)

Still stuck

If break tracking does not match this reference, or if help is needed configuring break rules for your store, submit a support ticket with your store number, the specific behavior you are seeing, and screenshots of the Shifts screen, the Break Report, or the labor report involved.

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Pre-publish checklist status

78 0d2dc665-bf75-4f47-99a8-8571ee1a0379 complete Seven sections filled (Reference adaptation).

79 1d9a58f3-eab5-413f-b3fc-80605cf975b4 complete At a glance within template spec.

80 d65aa221-afd3-463d-ac55-65f2220362dd complete No em dashes, no hedge words, permission-based throughout.

81 0a375b98-0d7f-4022-88ed-5cb2073b8cba complete Voice: operator retained only where it refers to legal-compliance responsibility.

82 097b35f4-04e9-4700-a293-8adf4c8ae738 complete Tracking-vs-enforcement framing resolved.

83 3d2a04fa-78d9-4b55-971a-b2dc21ed212f complete Break Report access path confirmed (Team tab, Break Report at top right).

84 5e79d221-a8c0-4ca7-9560-55ac5bf13cbc complete Team member profile Breaks tab confirmed.

85 34a84e9f-7ffc-4e24-9535-d758fc8186fe complete 10-minute and 30-minute break categorization confirmed.

86 f7e2374e-d3ee-45fd-acd4-f42de93f6275 complete Flag 24 enrichment: default rule, four configurable factors, three-state color system, complex-state templates pointer, clocking-system clarification, age indicators explained.

87 42aacc4a-f16e-483f-9808-aa9d44cf88c1 complete v4 2026-05-05: Settings → Breaks = Coming Soon documented. Self-serve config not available; support ticket required. Source: F-58.

88 0ec519b3-cdd1-4f97-b1f2-39238d64a5f9 complete Related article links activated.

89 f89f26be-2b33-4f23-b1fb-8a0249a198f0 incomplete UI verified against Production.

90 2bcd1c6d-60a2-4a5a-89ef-d944347b356a incomplete Remaining VERIFY blocks: paid/unpaid configuration depth, pre-scheduled breaks support, permission labels.

91 b8dc5831-f8bf-4bf8-b85f-e9546a9fc6a6 incomplete Reviewed by Jared and Kevin.