Meal and Rest Breaks

California requires employers to provide real, uninterrupted meal and rest breaks. When they do not, employees are owed premium pay for every day a meal and rest break was missed, and those premiums add up quickly.

Smith Trial Group represents employees in meal and rest break claims throughout Orange County and Southern California, individually and through class actions and PAGA claims.

On this page: Meal breaks · Rest breaks · Premium pay · Common violations · FAQ

Meal Break Rules

• A 30-minute unpaid, duty-free meal period must begin before the end of the fifth hour of work.
• A second 30-minute meal period is required for shifts over 10 hours.
• Some meal periods can be waived by mutual agreement in limited circumstances, such as shifts of six hours or less.
• If you are not relieved of all duty, the meal period must be paid as time worked.

Rest Break Rules

Non-exempt employees are entitled to a paid, 10-minute rest break for every four hours worked or major fraction of four hours. During a rest break, employees must be relieved of all duties, which means employers generally cannot require employees to stay on call or keep a radio or phone on during the break.

Premium Pay for Missed Breaks

For each workday a compliant meal period is not provided, the employer owes one additional hour of pay at the employee’s regular rate of compensation, and another hour for each day a compliant rest break is not provided. The regular rate includes nondiscretionary bonuses and similar pay, not just the base hourly wage.

Common Violations

• Late meal breaks that start after the fifth hour
• Breaks interrupted by customers, calls, or supervisors
• Policies or staffing that make breaks impossible to take
• Requiring employees to remain on premises or on call during rest breaks
• Auto-deducting meal periods that were never taken

Employers must provide breaks; they are not required to force employees to take them. But an employer cannot discourage breaks or create conditions that prevent them. See also wage and overtime claims.

Helpful resources: California Labor Commissioner · Labor Commissioner: Meal Period FAQ

Timing Rules That Employers Often Break

• The first meal period must begin no later than the end of the fifth hour of work, meaning before the start of the sixth hour.
• A second meal period is required for shifts longer than 10 hours, and must begin before the end of the tenth hour.
• A meal period can be waived only in limited circumstances, such as a shift of no more than six hours, by mutual consent.
• Rest periods should fall in the middle of each four-hour work period when practicable.

On-Duty and Interrupted Breaks

A meal period must be uninterrupted and duty-free, and the employer must relieve the employee of all duty and control. Requiring employees to stay on call, carry a radio and respond, remain on the premises in a way that keeps them working, or cut breaks short to meet productivity goals can violate the law. On-duty meal periods are allowed only in narrow situations, with a written agreement, when the nature of the work prevents relief from duty.

Timekeeping Records and Proof

Employers must record meal periods. When the records show missed, late or short meal periods, the California Supreme Court has held that there is a rebuttable presumption the employer did not provide a compliant break. Time records, schedules, coworker testimony and production data are common evidence in meal and rest break cases.

Warehouses and Quotas

California’s warehouse quota law prohibits quotas at covered warehouse distribution centers that prevent workers from taking required meal and rest breaks or using the bathroom. See workplace safety retaliation.

How Break Claims Are Brought

Workers can bring individual claims with the Labor Commissioner or in court, and widespread break violations are often pursued as class actions or PAGA claims. Claims for missed break premiums generally may be brought for three years, and sometimes four under the Unfair Competition Law. See PAGA claims and class actions.

Frequently Asked Questions

How far back can I recover missed break premiums?

Generally up to three years, and in some cases four.

My employer says I chose to skip my breaks. Do I still have a claim?

It depends on whether breaks were genuinely made available. Pressure, staffing levels, and workload often show that they were not.

Related guides: Final paycheck law · What is a PAGA claim?