California Rest Periods and Meal Breaks

Do you receive paid rest periods and unpaid meal breaks?

California labor law requires employers to provide paid rest periods and unpaid meal breaks for non-exempt workers. Both types of rest periods are based on the total number of hours worked in a given day.

Employees are generally entitled to a ten-minute rest break for every four hours worked. For example, an employee who works eight hours in a day is entitled to two ten-minute rest breaks.

An employee who works at least five hours in a day is generally entitled to a thirty-minute meal period. During the meal period, an employee must be relieved of all duty, otherwise the meal period will be counted as hours worked and paid at the employee’s regular rate of pay.

Depending on the employee’s specific circumstances, there may be some exceptions to the meal break policy. Employees who work six hours or less may waive their meal period if both the employee and the employer consent. Employees who work more than ten hours a day are entitled to a second meal period of at least thirty minutes. The second meal break may be waived if an employee works no more than 12 hours in a given work day and both the employee and the employer consent.

Employers who fail to provide rest breaks and meal periods in violation of the law may be required to pay one additional hour of pay at the employee’s regular rate of pay for each workday that the rest breaks and/or meal period is not provided.

What can I do if I believe my employer is violating rest period and meal break law?

If you believe you are owed overtime pay, have not been compensated for vacation pay, meal and break time, or that your employee rights have otherwise been violated, please fill out the form on the right or call us at (866) 981-4800 for a free consultation with a labor and employment attorney.

Important Note: This summary is intended to provide a basic overview of the typical types of employment cases handled by our firm. It is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.

Why Girard Gibbs LLP?

Girard Gibbs is a San Franciso-based law firm specializing in employment and labor law, securities litigation, consumer class actions and complex business litigation. Our California labor and employment attorneys are knowledgeable about employee rights under federal and California employment law, and actively pursue claims on behalf of employees whose rights have been violated. Girard Gibbs' managing partner Daniel Girard was voted one of Northern California's Super Lawyers in 2007 and 2008 by Law & Politics, recognizing him as one of the top 5-percent of attorneys practicing in Northern California.