Under California law, many employees are entitled to uninterrupted meal and rest breaks. Workers who are not given appropriate breaks may be able to make claims for compensation against their employers.
The California Labor Code states that no employer shall require any employee to work during any meal or rest period mandated by the Industrial Welfare Commission. Regarding meal periods, the IWC requires that:
•· Employees who work for more than 5 consecutive hours a day must be given a meal period of at least 30 minutes.
•· Under an exception to the rule, certain employees in the motion-picture industry are entitled to a 30 minute meal period after 6 hours of work.
•· If an employee works less than 6 hours in a day, the meal period may be waived if both the employee and the employer agree to it.
•· A second 30 minute meal period must be given if an employee works longer than 10 hours a day.
•· If no more than 12 hours are worked in a day, the second meal period may be waived if both the employee and the employer agree to it.
For break periods, the IWC mandates that employees be given a 10 minute break for every 4 hours worked as close as possible to the middle of the work period.
Meal and Break Periods
California law states that employees' meal and break periods must be uninterrupted. This means that an employee is relieved of all duties and is free to leave the premises. To be relieved of all duties, an employee may not be required to eat at his or her desk, answer telephone calls or be available via email or other forms of electronic communication. In addition, meal and break periods must comprise consecutive minutes. Two 15 minute break periods do not constitute a meal break - it must be 30 consecutive minutes.
Employers are only allowed to require employees to be "on duty" during a meal period when the nature of the work prevents the employee from being relieved of all duties and when the employee and employer have agreed to on-duty meals in a written agreement. Whether the nature of the job makes an on-duty meal necessary depends on the circumstances, but examples provided by the California Department of Industrial Relations include:
•· One worker at a coffee kiosk
•· A sole worker in a 24-hour convenience store
•· A security guard stationed alone at a remote site
Compensation for Denied Meal and Break Periods
Any employer who fails to provide a required meal or break period must pay employees one additional hour of pay at their regular wages for each work day meal or rest periods were not provided. The hours may not be counted toward overtime.
In February, 2011, a California appellate court ruled that two payments are permitted - one for a missed meal period and a second for a missed break period. Therefore, if an employee is denied a meal period and a rest period in the same day, he or she is entitled to two hours of additional pay at his or her regular rate of compensation for that day.
Employees denied meal or break periods may file wage claims with Division of Labor Standards Enforcement or file lawsuits against their employers for compensation and future compliance with California's meal and break period laws. If you have not been given meal or break periods at work, contact an experienced California employment lawyer to discuss any claims you may have. This could include the possibility of bringing your claim as part of a class action involving other employees who have suffered the same type of injury.
