Illinois law does not set a minimum number of hours between shifts for most adult workers. The question of how many hours between shifts is legal in Illinois has a short answer at the state level: none is required, so an employer can generally schedule you for a closing shift followed by an opening shift the next morning. Two exceptions matter. If you work in Chicago or Evanston in a covered industry, local ordinances give you the right to refuse shifts that start too soon after your last one. If you drive a commercial truck, fly for a Part 135 operator, or work under 16, federal or state rules put a real floor under the gap.
No Statewide Minimum for Adult Workers
The main Illinois rest law is the One Day Rest in Seven Act, and it regulates weekly rest, not daily rest. ODRISA requires employers to provide at least 24 consecutive hours off in every rolling seven-day window.1FindLaw. Illinois Code 820 Employment 140/2 – Hours and Days of Rest in Every Consecutive Seven-Day Period The practical effect is that you cannot be required to work more than six consecutive days.
Within those six days, nothing in ODRISA limits how tightly your employer can stack shifts. A 10 p.m. close followed by a 6 a.m. open is legal under state law, and so is a shorter gap. The Illinois statute simply does not address the between-shift question for adult workers outside the situations described below.
Chicago and Evanston: Right to Rest Between Shifts
Two Illinois cities have filled the state-law gap for workers in specific industries.
Chicago’s Fair Workweek Ordinance gives covered employees the right to decline any shift that starts less than 10 hours after the end of the previous shift.2American Legal Publishing. Chicago Code 6-110-070 – Right to Rest Coverage runs to seven industries: building services, healthcare, hotels, manufacturing, restaurants, retail, and warehouse services. The employer must have at least 100 employees globally, or 250 employees and 30 locations for restaurants.3City of Chicago. Fair Workweek If you are scheduled for a shift inside that 10-hour window, you can refuse it without discipline.
Evanston goes further. Its fair workweek ordinance gives covered employees the right to decline any shift starting within 11 hours of the end of the last one. If you agree in writing to work during that window anyway, your employer must pay one-and-a-half times your regular rate for those hours.4City of Evanston. Ordinance 024-O-23 – Section 3-34-7 Right to Rest
No other Illinois municipality currently requires a specific rest period between shifts for adult workers. Outside Chicago and Evanston, if you are an adult in a non-regulated industry, there is no legal floor on the gap.
Federal Rules for Truckers and Flight Crews
Federal law fills the between-shift gap for some safety-sensitive jobs, and those rules apply everywhere in Illinois.
Commercial truck drivers hauling property must have at least 10 consecutive hours off duty before they can start driving again. Their maximum 11-hour driving window begins only after that 10-hour break.5Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Summary of Hours of Service Regulations The 10 hours can be split using the sleeper berth provision, but the split must total at least 10 hours with one period of at least 7 consecutive hours in the sleeper berth.
Flight crews operating under Part 135 charter and commuter rules receive rest that scales with scheduled flight time. Less than 8 hours of scheduled flight time requires at least 9 consecutive hours of rest. Between 8 and 9 hours of flight time requires 10 hours of rest. Nine or more hours of flight time requires 11 hours.6eCFR. 14 CFR Part 135 Subpart F – Crewmember Flight Time and Duty Period Limitations and Rest Requirements Travel time to or from the airport at the employer’s direction does not count toward the rest period.
These federal minimums cannot be waived by agreement between you and your employer. If your employer schedules you inside them, the schedule is unlawful regardless of what you signed.
Outside these industries, the federal Fair Labor Standards Act imposes no between-shift minimum and no meal or rest break requirement at all.7U.S. Department of Labor. Breaks and Meal Periods
Workers Under 16 Get an Effective 16-Hour Gap
Minors under 16 are the one group in Illinois with a real state-law floor between shifts. The Child Labor Law of 2024 (820 ILCS 206) prohibits employers from having a worker under 16 on the job for more than 8 hours in any 24-hour period. That cap produces at least a 16-hour gap between the end of one shift and the start of the next within the same day.
Federal law treats 16- and 17-year-olds differently. Under the FLSA, workers that age may work unlimited hours in non-hazardous jobs, and federal law imposes no break requirements on any minor.8U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet #43 – Child Labor Provisions of the FLSA for Nonagricultural Occupations For workers under 16 in Illinois, the state rule is stronger and controls.
What You Can Do If Your Employer Violates the Rules
If your employer is denying you the 24-hour weekly rest ODRISA requires, you can file a complaint with the Illinois Department of Labor. Civil penalties depend on employer size. For employers with fewer than 25 employees, penalties run up to $250 per offense payable to the Department, plus up to $250 in damages payable to you. For employers with 25 or more employees, the numbers double to up to $500 and up to $500.9Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 820 ILCS 140/7 – Civil Offense Each week you are denied the required 24 consecutive hours of rest counts as a separate offense, so penalties add up quickly.
If you are in a Chicago or Evanston covered industry and your employer scheduled you inside the protected rest window without your consent, you can decline the shift under the local ordinance and report the violation to the city.
Illinois law prohibits retaliation for exercising your ODRISA rights, including for filing a complaint. Workers who experience retaliation can seek legal and equitable relief, which may include reinstatement and lost wages.9Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 820 ILCS 140/7 – Civil Offense The federal FLSA adds a second layer of anti-retaliation protection that covers oral or written complaints made to either the employer or the Wage and Hour Division.10U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet #77A – Prohibiting Retaliation Under the Fair Labor Standards Act If you were fired or disciplined after raising a scheduling issue, document the timeline and consider talking to an employment lawyer before the evidence goes cold.