So I just moved to Virginia, I worked at a Starbucks for a few months and quit to go to culinary school. I started working in a restaurant with a classmate just for the experience and while it wasnt the worst thing ever, we didnt get breaks. My first night I worked over 8 hours with no break and everytime I went to sit while it was slow, I was given something to do that wasnt technically in my station. I think im a pretty hard worker in general but I have a really bad back and just needed to get off my feet every few hours. I have no real interest in working in a restaurant again because of this and the fact that it's really not my cup of tea (I'm more of a baker than a cook, to be honest). The biggest question for me was, “Is this legal?” Apparently, in Virginia employers aren't required to provide breaks as long as they're paying you for the time you're working, which is a big yikes to me. I've lived in a lot of states where the employer would literally be fined if a person clocked out 1 minute late for their meal break and were legally obligated a meal break after 5 hours and at least one 10 minute break ever 4. I just felt bad for the guys I worked with, they busted their asses making sure everything got done but the moment they had a second to sit or go smoke they were seen as lazy by our Exec Chef. I don't think any scenario could make me more anti-work than this one.