California employees are often entitled to a specific amount of meal and rest breaks. If your employer is denying you the breaks you are legally entitled to, you can sue your employer for damages. If you believe you have been unfairly denied breaks, contact the Kletter Law Firm today by calling us at 415.434.4300 or you can schedule a no-fee consultation via email.

Meal breaks: Nearly all non-exempt employees are entitled to a thirty-minute uninterrupted meal break for every five hours worked. You may voluntarily give up your meal break, but only if you work six hours or less and you and your employer agree in writing that the meal break has been waived. If non-exempt employees work for ten hours or more, they are entitled to two thirty minute uninterrupted meal breaks. You can give up the second meal break, but only if you work less than twelve hours and you actually took the first meal break. Your employer has to make sure that you actually receive the correct number of meal breaks and record those breaks in your time records.

Non-exempt employees who work more than 5 hours and who are not provided with a meal break, must be paid a missed meal break premium wage. That premium pay is an extra hour of wages for every meal break not provided or which was less than 30 minutes or which was interrupted. The premium pay is in addition to wages due for all the time actually worked.

Rest breaks: California law states that all non-exempt employees must be “authorized and permitted” to take a ten minute rest break for every four hours worked, or for working a “major fraction” of four hours. (A “major fraction” of four hours has been interpreted to mean two hours.) Also, employees must work at least 3.5 hours in a day to be entitled to any break at all. Therefore, you should get one 10 minute break if you work between 3.5 and 6 hours, two ten minute breaks if you work between 6 and 10 hours, and three 10 minute breaks if you work between 10 and 14 hours. Unlike meal breaks, which the employer must require that you take, the employer only has to “authorize” rest breaks, meaning that it must allow you time to take these breaks but you have some responsibility to make sure you actually get the time away from your duties. Also unlike meal breaks, your employer is not required to record your rest breaks in the time records. Employees are entitled to pay for their time spent on rest breaks.

Premium Pay: Your employer has to pay you premium pay if you work more than four hours (or a “major fraction” of four hours) and you are not provided with a rest break. That premium pay is an extra hour of wages for every day you miss a rest break, and it is in addition to the time you are forced to stay on duty during the rest break.

Eligibility: Although these laws cover most employees in California, you are not entitled to these breaks and meals if you are exempt. An “exempt” employee is a non-union employee who is not covered by certain laws because of the kind of work that employee performs. Generally, the only type of worker who is considered exempt is one who makes a relatively large salary, has a lot of responsibility within the company, and who exercises significant independent judgment.

If you are not provided with meal breaks and your employer refuses to pay the premium pay, contact Kletter Law Firm today by calling us at 415.434.4300 or you can schedule a no-fee consultation via email. To help with your case, you should keep your own written records of every day you are not given a meal or rest break.