Section 161. One day rest in seven

1. Every employer operating a factory,
  mercantile establishment, hotel, restaurant,  or  freight  or  passenger
  elevator  in  any  building  or  place shall, except as herein otherwise
  provided, allow every person employed in such establishment  or  in  the
  care,  custody  or  operation of any such elevator, at least twenty-four
  consecutive hours of rest in any calendar week. Every employer operating
  a place in which motion pictures are shown shall allow the projectionist
  or operator of the motion picture  machine  and  engineers  and  firemen
  therein  at  least twenty-four consecutive hours of rest in any calendar
  week. Every employer operating  a  place  in  which  legitimate  theatre
  productions  such  as  dramatic  and  musical  productions  are shown or
  exhibited shall allow all employees, including  the  performers  in  the
  cast therein and engineers and firemen, at least twenty-four consecutive
  hours  of rest in each and every calendar week, but this shall not apply
  to any place wherein motion pictures,  vaudeville  or  incidental  stage
  presentations  or  a  combination thereof are regularly given throughout
  the week as the established policy of such place; except that  engineers
  and firemen employed in such place shall be allowed at least twenty-four
  consecutive  hours  of  rest  in  any  calendar  week. No employer shall
  operate such establishment, place or elevator on Sunday unless he  shall
  comply  with subdivision three. This section does not authorize any work
  on Sunday not permitted now or hereafter by law.
    Every owner, lessee and operator of a dwelling,  apartment,  loft  and
  office  building, garage, storage place and building, wherein or whereat
  a watchman or watchmen or engineer or fireman are employed, shall  allow
  such  person  or  persons  so  employed at least twenty-four consecutive
  hours of rest in each and every calendar week.
    Every owner, lessee or operator of a warehouse, storagehouse,  office,
  dwelling,  apartment, loft and any other building or structure wherein a
  janitor, superintendent, supervisor or manager or engineer or fireman is
  employed, shall allow such  person  or  persons  so  employed  at  least
  twenty-four consecutive hours of rest in each and every calendar week.
    2. This section shall not apply to:
    a. Foreman in charge;
    b.  Employees  in  dairies, creameries, milk condenseries, milk powder
  factories, milk sugar factories,  milk  shipping  stations,  butter  and
  cheese  factories,  ice  cream  manufacturing  plants  and milk bottling
  plants, where not more than seven persons are employed;
    c. Employees, if the board in its discretion approves, engaged  in  an
  industrial  or manufacturing process necessarily continuous, in which no
  employee is permitted to work more than eight hours in any calendar day;
    d. Employees whose duties include not more than three hours'  work  on
  Sunday  in  setting  sponges  in  bakeries,  caring  for  live  animals,
  maintaining fires, or making necessary repairs to boilers or machinery.
    e. Employees in resort or seasonal hotels  and  restaurants  in  rural
  communities  and in cities and villages having a population of less than
  fifteen thousand inhabitants, excluding that portion of  the  population
  of  a  third class city residing outside of its corporation tax district
  where such city embraces the entire area of a former township.  As  used
  in  this subdivision, the term "resort" shall apply to any establishment
  enumerated herein which operates for not more than four calendar  months
  and  fifteen  days  in each year, and the term "seasonal" shall apply to
  any establishment enumerated herein in which the number of employees  is
  increased by at least one hundred per cent from the slack to the busiest
  season.
    f. Employees in dry dock plants engaged in making repairs to ships.
    3. Before operating on Sunday, every employer shall designate a day of
  rest,  consisting  of  at least twenty-four consecutive hours of rest in

  each and every calendar week for each employee, and  shall  notify  each
  employee  in  advance  of his or her designated day of rest. No employee
  shall be permitted to work on his designated day of rest.
    4.  Every  employer  shall  keep  a  time  book  showing the names and
  addresses of his employees and the hours worked by each of them in  each
  day.
    5. If there shall be practical difficulties or unnecessary hardship in
  carrying  out  the  provisions  of this section or the rules promulgated
  hereunder, the commissioner may make a variation therefrom if the spirit
  of the act be observed and  substantial  justice  done.  Such  variation
  shall  describe  the  conditions  under  which it shall be permitted and
  shall apply to substantially  similar  conditions.  A  properly  indexed
  record  of  variations shall be kept by the department. Each application
  for a variation shall be accompanied by a non-refundable  fee  of  forty
  dollars.
    6.  In case of violation of any of the provisions of this section, the
  commissioner shall issue an order directing  compliance  therewith,  and
  upon  failure  so  to comply shall commence a prosecution as provided by
  law.