Meal and Rest Breaks

California employees are often entitled to specific meal and rest breaks as described below. If your employer is denying you the breaks you are legally entitled to, you may be entitled to additional pay.  Depending on your circumstances, you may be owed a significant amount of money. If you believe you have been unfairly denied breaks, contact the Kletter Law Firm today by calling us at 415.434.3400 or you can schedule a no-fee consultation.  We can help you determine if you have been unlawfully denied breaks and the amount of money owed to you.

Meal Breaks
Most non-exempt employees in California are entitled to the following:

• For every five hours worked in a day, you are entitled to a thirty-minute uninterrupted meal break.  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 you worked ten hours or more in a workday, you 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 are provided the correct number of meal breaks and record those breaks in your time records.

Employees who are not provided with a meal break accordingly must be paid an extra hour of pay for every meal break not provided, every meal break less than 30 minutes, and every meal break that was interrupted. The extra hour(s) of pay is in addition to wages due for all the time actually worked. The total amount of additional pay can be significant.  For example, if you never received a meal break throughout your employment, you may be entitled to one additional hour of pay for each day you worked.

Rest Breaks
California law states that all non-exempt employees must be “authorized and permitted” to take a paid 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.

Whereas your employer must require that you take meal breaks, it only has to “authorize” rest breaks and allow you time to take these breaks. 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.

Your employer must 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.

If you are not provided with meal breaks and your employer refuses to pay the missed meal break penalty wage hour, contact Kletter Law Firm today by calling us at 415.434.3400 or contact us online. To help with your case, you should keep your own written records of every day you are not given a meal or rest break.