One day rest in seven: the state laws that limit seven-day weeks for drivers

California and Illinois require a day off in every week for most drivers, and federal law sets no day-of-rest rule at all. New York and Massachusetts have laws that sound broader than they are, because each lists the workplaces it covers and passenger transportation is not among them. This guide gives each state’s rule, who is excused, and what it means for a six-day dialysis schedule or a driver who asks to work seven days. Weekly hour caps for drivers of larger vehicles are in the hours of service guide, and overtime pay is in the overtime guide.

Does federal law require a day off?

No federal law requires a day off. The Labor Department says the Fair Labor Standards Act puts no cap on how many hours a worker aged 16 or over may work in a week, and work on a weekend, holiday or rest day earns overtime pay only when it pushes the week past 40 hours.

The one federal limit that comes close applies to drivers of passenger-carrying commercial motor vehicles. Under 49 CFR 395.5, such a driver cannot drive after 60 hours on duty in 7 consecutive days for a company that does not run vehicles every day, or after 70 hours in 8 consecutive days for one that does. That caps hours and does not guarantee a day off. It also reaches only vehicles used in interstate commerce that carry more than 8 passengers including the driver for pay, or that weigh 10,001 pounds or more (49 CFR 390.5).

California: one day’s rest in seven

California Labor Code section 551 says every person employed in any occupation of labor is entitled to one day’s rest in seven, and section 552 says no employer may cause employees to work more than six days in seven. A violation is a misdemeanor (section 553). The law counts by the workweek, which Wage Order 9 defines for transportation employers as seven consecutive days starting on the same calendar day each week. In its 2017 decision in Mendoza v. Nordstrom, the California Supreme Court held that a day of rest is guaranteed in each workweek, and that a stretch of more than six days crossing from one workweek into the next is not prohibited by itself.

Four exceptions matter for a van company:

• Short weeks. Sections 551 and 552 do not apply when total hours of employment do not exceed 30 in any week or 6 in any one day (section 556). The Court read the six-hour part narrowly: it covers only an employee who never works more than six hours on any day of the workweek.
• Emergencies. The sections do not apply to cases of emergency or to work done to protect life or property from loss or destruction (section 554).
• Saved-up days. When the nature of the job reasonably requires seven or more consecutive days, days of rest may accumulate, if in each calendar month the employee receives days of rest equal to one day in seven (section 554).
• Hardship exemptions. The Chief of the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement may exempt an employer or employees when hardship would result (section 554).

Illinois: 24 hours of rest in every consecutive seven days

Illinois requires at least 24 consecutive hours of rest in every consecutive seven-day period, counted on a rolling basis instead of by a fixed week. Section 2 of the One Day Rest In Seven Act (820 ILCS 140) applies to every employee except those the section excludes, and the rest comes in addition to the regular rest at the close of each working day. The statute says “every consecutive seven-day period,” so the count moves with each day instead of resetting on a set weekday.

The exceptions in section 2 that a NEMT company could meet are:

• Part-time employees whose total hours for one employer do not exceed 20 in a calendar week.
• Employees needed in a breakdown of machinery or equipment, or another emergency that requires immediate service to prevent injury, damage to property, or suspension of necessary operation.
• Employees in a bona fide executive, administrative or professional capacity, outside salespeople, and supervisors.
• Employees whose hours, days of work and rest periods are set through collective bargaining.

The list also covers agriculture, coal mining, canning, watchmen and security guards, and towing vessel crews. It does not name drivers.

Four more parts of the Act reach a van company:

• Sunday. Before operating on Sunday, an employer must post a schedule listing the employees required or allowed to work that day and the day of rest designated for each, and no employee has to work the day designated for them (section 4).
• Permits. The Director of Labor may grant a permit to employ people on a designated day of rest. A permit cannot cover seven days a week for more than 8 weeks in any one year unless the Director finds the need cannot be fixed by hiring more employees or adjusting schedules (section 8). The state’s page says employees must have agreed voluntarily.
• Notice and records. The employer posts the state’s notice, emails it or posts it online for employees who travel for work, and keeps a time book of daily hours (sections 5 and 8.5). Retaliation against an employee who uses the Act or complains is barred (section 5.5).
• Penalties. Up to $250 per offense for an employer with fewer than 25 employees and up to $500 for 25 or more, plus damages of up to the same amount to the employee. Each week without the 24 hours is a separate offense for each employee (section 7).

California and Illinois side by side

California counts a fixed workweek and Illinois counts any seven days, and that one difference decides most scheduling problems.

New York, Massachusetts and Wisconsin: laws that name the workplace

New York Labor Law 161 guarantees at least 24 consecutive hours of rest in any calendar week, but only to employees of a factory, mercantile establishment, hotel or restaurant and to people who care for or operate a freight or passenger elevator. It also names projectionists, theatre staff, watchmen, janitors, engineers and firemen in certain buildings, domestic workers and farm laborers. Passenger transportation is not on the list.

Massachusetts General Laws chapter 149, section 48 gives employees of a manufacturing, mechanical or mercantile establishment or workshop 24 consecutive hours of rest in every seven consecutive days, including the hours between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Section 50 lists exclusions, and the fine for a violation is $300 (sections 48 and 52). Wisconsin Statute 103.85 gives 24 consecutive hours of rest in every 7 consecutive days to employees of a factory or mercantile establishment, and it excepts an employee who states in writing a voluntary choice to work without the rest. None of the three texts names a van driver’s job. Ask the state labor department about any role that works inside one of the listed places before you rely on that.

Do six-day dialysis schedules and drivers who ask for seven days fit these rules?

A six-day dialysis schedule fits both laws, because the clinic’s calendar decides when vans must run and your roster decides who works each day. Cover a Monday to Saturday service with drivers who each get a full day off.

The rolling count in Illinois catches schedules that California accepts. As an example, take a Monday to Sunday workweek. A driver takes Monday off in week one and Sunday off in week two, which means working Tuesday of week one through Saturday of week two, twelve days in a row. California is satisfied, because each workweek holds a day of rest. Illinois is not, on the statute’s wording: the seven days from Tuesday of week one through Monday of week two contain no 24 hours of rest.

A driver who asks to work seven days is a different problem in each state:

• California. The employer has to tell employees about the right and then stay neutral. It cannot encourage the seventh day, and the Court said an employer may not “conceal the entitlement to rest.” Overtime pay is not an inducement. The Court also warned that an employer can pressure without a direct order, by making clear that skipping rest will help the employee or spare a sanction, so a bonus or any hint of a reward for the seventh day invites a claim. Keep a short signed note that the driver was told about the right and chose the day.
• Illinois. The driver’s wish does not replace the employer’s duty. Work on a designated rest day needs the state’s permit, and the permit is limited to 8 weeks of seven-day weeks in a year unless the Director finds the need cannot be solved another way.

Building seven-day service that stays inside the rules

Seven-day service stays inside the rules when every driver has a written day off and the roster is checked against both counts.

1. Fix the workweek. Pick the day the week starts, write it down, and use it for every driver. California requires the same start day each week.
2. Count every seven-day stretch. Giving each driver 24 consecutive hours off in every seven days is the safest pattern in both states.
3. Write the day off next to each driver’s name. Illinois asks for it in the Sunday schedule, and it settles disputes in any state.
4. Check the roster for twelve-day runs. They appear when a day off moves from the start of one week to the end of the next.
5. Handle seventh-day requests in writing. Get the driver’s request in their own words, tell the driver about the right in California, and apply for the permit first in Illinois.
6. Keep time records. Illinois requires a time book, and daily hours are the evidence for every rule above. The timekeeping guide lists what the record has to show.

Meal periods, which Illinois puts in the same Act, are covered in the meal and rest break guide. The driver schedule template has a grid for days off, and the fatigue guide covers rest for safety.

Keeping days off visible in HealthRide

Driver shifts in HealthRide can repeat on a weekly pattern, so each driver’s days off are set once and repeat until you change them. Drivers clock in and out in the driver app and see their upcoming schedule there, and the timecard reports list each driver’s hours for any dates you choose, so a long stretch of days without a day off is easy to spot.