Meal and Rest Breaks

California labor laws provide strong protections for employees when it comes to meal and rest breaks. These laws are designed to ensure that employees have sufficient time to rest and recharge during their workday, promoting overall health and productivity in the workplace. As an employee in California, it is crucial to understand your rights regarding meal and rest breaks.

1. Timing: Employees who work more than 5 hours in a workday must be provided with an unpaid meal break of at least 30 minutes.
2. Waiver: If the total workday is no more than 6 hours, the meal break can be waived by mutual consent of the employer and employee.
3. Additional Meal Breaks: If an employee works more than 10 hours in a workday, they are entitled to a second unpaid meal break of at least 30 minutes, unless the total workday is no more than 12 hours and the first meal break was not waived.
4. On-duty Meal Breaks: Under certain limited circumstances, if the nature of the work prevents an employee from being relieved of all duties during a meal break, an on-duty meal break may be allowed with pay.
5. Penalties:  If an employer fails to provide a meal or rest break in accordance with the law, they may be subject to penalties. Employees who were denied  breaks may be entitled to one additional hour of pay at their regular rate of pay for each workday that a break was not provided.

1. Timing: Employees are entitled to a paid rest break of at least ten minutes for every four hours worked or a major fraction thereof.
2. Rest Breaks Duration: Rest breaks should generally be in the middle of each four-hour work period, to the extent practicable.
3. Combined Rest Breaks: Rest breaks cannot be combined or aggregated to create longer breaks. They should be separate and provided as close to the middle of each work period as possible.
4. Penalties:  If an employer fails to provide a rest break in accordance with  the law, they may be subject to penalties. Employees who were denied  breaks may be entitled to one additional hour of pay at their regular rate of pay for each workday that a break was not provided.

Employees can sue their current or former employers for not complying with California’s meal and rest break laws. Wage and hour lawsuits against employers for interrupting breaks or requiring employees to remain on premises during their breaks are common and are often brought as class actions because numerous workers are victimized.