California law has some strict rules requiring employers to give employees proper meal breaks and rest. If you have not been given these breaks, talk to an employment lawyer in Los Angeles, California as soon as possible because it may very well be possible to file a claim against your employer. Keep reading to learn more details, and contact a lawyer to get specifics on your situation.
Can You File a Claim for Not Receiving Proper Meal and Rest Breaks?
What If I’m a Salaried Worker?
Meal and rest breaks usually apply to hourly wage workers rather than salaried workers, but there are some exceptions, and there are many requirements even for salaried workers and supervisors. You’ll need to speak with a lawyer to see if your situation would qualify and what requirements there are on your employer that may or may not have been fulfilled.
Understanding Your Rights in California
Meal Breaks
In general, the law requires that an employer provide an off-duty meal period of no less than 30 minutes for any employee who has worked more than five hours, and that meal break must be given no later than the end of the fifth hour. If your work period is no more than six hours, you and your employee can together waive the meal break by mutual consent, but the key here is “mutual.” Your employer cannot make this decision alone: you must agree to it. This provision is allowed so wage workers can shorten their day, if they desire. Some wage workers would prefer to work six hours and then go straight home rather than end up being at work 6 1/2 hours because of the required meal break at the end of the fifth hour.
Your employer does not have to pay you for this time if you have been completely relieved of all duties for those 30 minutes and if your employer gives up all control over your activities for those 30 minutes (meaning they cannot require you to do anything, stop you from doing anything legal, or try to restrain where you go). Your employer must also do nothing to discourage you from taking your break and must provide you with an opportunity to take it, whatever that looks like in your work situation. However, your employer does not have to ensure that you take the break. Once they have provided the opportunity, it’s up to you to actually take it.
Second Meal Breaks
If you are working more than 10 hours in a day, you must be provided with a second meal break of no less than 30 minutes, and this must be provided no later than the end of your 10th hour of work. Again, you can waive this meal break if you and your employer agreed to do so mutually, if you aren’t working more than 12 hours in that day, and as long as you took the first meal break.
On-Duty Meal Breaks
It is very rare for California law to allow on-duty meal breaks. While employers in the past have attempted to require these, only occasionally have the courts been willing to uphold their right to do so when it’s been challenged. In general, your employer can only require this if they pay you for the time, if you agree in writing to it, and if you work a job where the nature of your work makes it impossible for you to be completely relieved of all your duties.
For example, if you work as a security guard through the night, and you are the only security guard on duty at the location, it would be impractical for you to give up all responsibilities entirely for 30 minutes. This would leave the area unguarded. In this situation, therefore, your employer can ask you to take an on-duty break, though you must be paid for the time.
Rest Breaks
For most wage employees who work hourly, the law requires that their employer give them at least 10 minutes of rest if their total working time is at least 3 1/2 hours, and mandatory breaks have to be offered for every four hours or “major fraction” of four hours that are worked. This rest break should be in the middle of the four hours if possible, meaning that if you work an eight-hour day, you should have one rest break around two hours in and before your meal break and one rest break around two hours after your meal break. This is just a general rule, and your employer is not absolutely required to make it work out this way. With rest breaks, there is a bit more latitude than with meal breaks for employers who might find it impractically difficult to make the schedule work for all employees.
For example, if a store opens at 8 AM and most first-shift employees arrive by 7:30 AM, it would be difficult for the store to schedule everyone’s rest break for the same 10 minutes at 9:30 AM. That would leave the store virtually unmanned. The courts do recognize this as an issue and only require employers to do what is practical for their situation. Unlike meal breaks, rest breaks are considered paid time and must be paid at the same rate as time worked. For the most part, employers must give you a complete break from all duty during this 10 minutes and give up all control of how you spend your time. There are a few exceptions, however, especially for employees that work in positions where safety is a major consideration.
Contact a California Employment Lawyer Can Help You Recover
If your employer has been unlawfully denying you the breaks you are owed under the law, then you can bring a claim for compensation. Each day that a meal break or rest break was denied or interrupted, your employer owes you an extra hour of pay at your regular rate. If both rest breaks and meal breaks were denied, this counts as two violations, even if it happened in a single day. Your rate of penalty pay for this must also calculate all compensation that you receive during that week, so it should include commissions and non-discretionary bonuses.
Contact the experience team of attorneys of Haig B. Kazandjian Lawyers APC today. We proudly serve clients across California. Visit us at our Glendale office at:
Haig B. Kazandjian Lawyers APC
801 N. Brand Blvd., Suite 1015,
Glendale, CA 91203
Phone: (818) 696 2306
