California Labor and Employment Law

legal news & tips for employees published by Law Office of Eugene Lee

What Break Periods Am I Entitled To?

Under California law (which is much more generous to employees than federal law), if you are a non-exempt worker, you are entitled to meal and rest breaks: a 30-minute meal break if you work more than 5 hours in a workday, and 10 minutes breaks for every 4 hours you work. There are other requirements though. If your boss doesn’t comply with break requirements, they are required to pay you one extra hour of regular pay for each day on which a break violation occurred.

For the nitty gritties, see below:

Rest Breaks

If you work at least 3.5 hours in a day, you are entitled to a rest break.
Your boss must give you a rest break of at least 10 consecutive minutes for each 4 hours worked.
Rest breaks must to the extent possible be in the middle of each work period.
Rest breaks must be paid.
Your boss may require you to remain on work premises during your rest break.
You cannot be required to work during any required rest break. [Cal. Lab. C. 226.7]. BUT, you are free to skip your rest break provided your boss isn’t encouraging or forcing you to.

Meal Breaks

If you work over 5 hours in a day, you are entitled to a meal break of at least 30 minutes. BUT, you can agree with your boss to waive this meal period provided you do not work more than 6 hours in the workday. You can also agree with your boss to an on-duty meal break which counts as time worked and is paid.
If you work over 10 hours in a day, you are entitled to a second meal break of at least 30 minutes. You can agree with your boss to waive the second meal break if you do not work more than 12 hours and you did not waive your first meal break.
Your boss has an affirmative obligation to ensure you are free to take your meal break off work premises.
You cannot be required to work during any required rest break. [Cal. Lab. C. 226.7]. Your boss has an affirmative obligation to ensure you are actually relieved of all duty and are not performing any work during meal breaks.

Keep in mind, there are many exceptions to the above for certain industries, such as the healthcare, group home, motion picture, manufacturing, and baking industries.

If your employer is violating your rights to meal and rest breaks, you should contact a lawyer right away. Your claims could be subject to strict filing deadlines. For meal and rest break violations, the filing deadline is usually considered to be 3 years thanks to a recent California Supreme Court decision. [Murphy v Kenneth Cole Productions, 40 Cal.4^th 1094 (2007)], but in certain cases, a 1 year filing deadline could apply.

Keep on taking those breaks!

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16 Responses to “What Break Periods Am I Entitled To?”

Stacey Derbinshire | March 20th, 2008 at 1:58 pm

I found your blog on google and read a few of your other posts. I just added you to my Google News Reader. Keep up the good work. Look forward to reading more from you in the future.

Stacey Derbinshire
Eugene Lee | March 21st, 2008 at 11:03 am

Stacey,

Thanks so much! I’ll try not to disappoint! Let me know if you have any questions you want answered. I’ll be happy to make it a topic for my next post.

Gene
Michael | August 7th, 2008 at 2:29 pm

Can rest period breaks be combined to take one 20 minute break at some point during a shift or must you take the break during the 4 hours of work?

Thanks
Tony Schmidt | September 2nd, 2008 at 1:38 pm

It doesn’t specifically say above that the meal breaks one is entitled to in an 8 hour working day have to be paid. I am asking as an employee where our boss has suddenly announced that we have to clock out for lunch – thus not get paid – for 30 minutes every day.
Thanks
Tony
Toby | October 4th, 2008 at 3:58 pm

Where is the law, specifically where can I print out the law that says I am entitled to 10 min rest periods?
Li | October 8th, 2008 at 1:05 pm

http://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/faq_restperiods.htm

Q.
What are the basic requirements for rest periods under California law?

A.
California employees covered by the rest period provisions of the Industrial Welfare Commission Wage Orders must be provided with a net 10-minute paid rest period for every four hours worked or major fraction thereof. Insofar as is practicable, the rest period should be in the middle of the work period. If an employer fails to provide an employee a rest period, the employer shall pay the employee one hour of pay at the employee’s regular rate of pay for each workday that the rest period is not provided.
ed | February 27th, 2009 at 11:28 am

I find the maximum time till a meal must be granted, but isn’t there a minimum also? Can a employer have you take your meal 1 1/2 hours after you start work? Not clear.
df | April 18th, 2009 at 1:25 am

Can a employer have you take your rest period 1 15min after you start working? should it be 2hrs.after the start time?
William | May 1st, 2009 at 1:05 pm

Are meal breaks and rest breaks two different entities? What I’m getting at is, if I work 5 hours, I’m entitled to a 30 minute meal break, but am I entitled to a 10 minute rest break as well? or does the 30 minute break revoke that privilege?
chris | August 14th, 2009 at 7:19 pm

My boss told me after 6 hrs we are suppose to clock out and take 1 hour lunch is this correct? I was told this is already in effect.

I never heard of working 6 hours and taking 1 hour lunch
writer | November 17th, 2009 at 12:16 pm

Can a boss forbid you and a coworker from taking lunch at the same time?
Postergal | January 8th, 2010 at 8:31 pm

Employees should be given the mandated meal and rest periods. Just like other individuals, they need to eat and rest so they can do their job properly and effectively.
jae | January 8th, 2010 at 10:55 pm

Can the employeer have you work for 4 hours. give a 1 hour lunch then have you work for 4 more hours? can they consider the 1 hour lunch to include the 10 min breaks without specifying the breaks are included? time cards only ask for start and end time of lunch break.
Postergal | January 12th, 2010 at 11:42 pm

The one-hour lunch break excludes other breaks or rest periods. It is solely for meal time. The employer may shortened it to 30 minutes but the other half should be compensable.
sam | January 20th, 2010 at 7:43 pm

can my boss tell me if i tack a brack hey can fire me and i did not tack a brack when i shud it was 1 hr befor i go home
Chris | February 16th, 2010 at 2:37 pm

Do you if EXEMPT employees are entitled to the same laws?

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