Meal Periods

Your Right to a Duty-Free Meal Break in California

California requires employers to provide non-exempt employees an unpaid, off-duty meal period of at least 30 minutes. When an employer fails to provide that break, or keeps you working through it, the law requires an extra hour of pay for that day. Late, short, skipped, and interrupted meal periods are among the most common wage-and-hour violations in the state.

If your meal breaks were late, cut short, skipped, interrupted, or worked through, your rights may have been violated.

When You Are Entitled to a Meal Period

You are entitled to a first meal period of at least 30 minutes when you work more than five hours in a day, and it must begin before the end of your fifth hour of work. A second 30-minute meal period is required when you work more than 10 hours, before the end of your tenth hour. The first meal period can be waived by mutual agreement only when your total shift is six hours or less. The second can be waived only when your shift is 12 hours or less and you did not waive the first.

What a Compliant Meal Period Requires

A lawful meal period must be duty-free. Your employer must relieve you of all duty, relinquish control over how you spend the time, and allow you to leave the premises. Under Brinker Restaurant Corp. v. Superior Court, the employer must make the break available but is not required to “police” that no work is performed. If you are required to remain on duty or stay on site, the break becomes an on-duty meal period that must be paid, and on-duty meal periods are permitted only when the nature of the work genuinely prevents you from being relieved and you have signed a written agreement.

The One-Hour Meal Period Premium

When a compliant meal period is not provided, your employer owes one additional hour of pay for each workday a meal period was missed. This premium is a wage, and under Ferra v. Loews Hollywood Hotel it must be paid at your regular rate of pay, which includes nondiscretionary bonuses and commissions rather than base hourly wages alone. Over months of missed breaks, these premiums add up.

Common Meal Period Violations

Meal period violations are often built into scheduling and timekeeping systems. Common examples include:

• No meal break provided on shifts longer than five hours
• A first meal break that starts late, after the fifth hour of work
• Breaks that are cut short to less than 30 minutes
• Breaks interrupted by work questions, customers, or calls
• Pressure to eat at your desk or station or to stay on the premises
• Automatic deduction of a meal period that was not actually taken

What You Can Recover

If your employer failed to provide compliant meal periods, you may be able to recover the one-hour premiums plus interest. Depending on the facts, you may also be entitled to waiting time penalties when premiums are still unpaid after you leave the job, wage statement penalties, and civil penalties under the Private Attorneys General Act, along with your attorney’s fees and costs.

You generally have three years to pursue wage claims under the California Labor Code, and up to four years when brought under the state’s unfair competition law. Because deadlines run from each affected paycheck, it is best to speak with an attorney promptly.  Penalty claims generally require you to pursue the claim within one year.

Frequently Asked Questions

When am I entitled to a meal break in California?

You are owed a 30-minute meal period once you work more than five hours, beginning before the end of your fifth hour, and a second when you work more than ten hours. Limited waivers apply to shorter shifts.

Does my employer have to make sure I do not work during lunch?

Your employer must relieve you of all duty and make the full break available, but under Brinker it is not required to force you to stop working. It cannot, however, pressure, discourage, or impede you from taking the break.

What if I have to stay at my desk or on site during lunch?

If you are kept on duty or required to remain on the premises, the meal period is treated as time worked and must be paid. On-duty meal periods are allowed only in narrow circumstances and require a written agreement.

What do I get if I miss a meal break?

Your employer owes one additional hour of pay for each day a compliant meal period was not provided, calculated at your regular rate of pay, which includes nondiscretionary bonuses and commissions.

Can I waive my meal period?

Sometimes. You can waive the first meal period by mutual agreement if your shift is six hours or less, and the second if your shift is 12 hours or less and you did not waive the first.

Schedule Your Free Consultation

At Righetti Law in San Francisco, our attorneys represent employees in California state and federal courts and have decades of experience handling wage-and-hour and class action matters. We have recovered millions for our clients in court and in settlement.

Your consultation will be confidential, and we will not contact your employer.

Call our firm at 415-983-0900 for a complimentary, confidential consultation. You may also complete our online contact form.