Rest Breaks

Your Right to Paid, Uninterrupted Rest in California

California requires employers to authorize and permit paid rest breaks based on the hours you work. Because rest breaks are short and paid, employers often shorten them, skip them when short-staffed, or expect you to stay on call or reachable, and each of those can be a violation that carries a penalty.

If your rest breaks were skipped, cut short, interrupted, or you were kept on call during them, your rights may have been violated.

How Many Rest Breaks You Are Owed

You are entitled to a net 10 minutes of paid rest for every four hours worked, or major fraction of four hours, which the state treats as anything more than two hours. In practice that means no rest break is required for shifts under three and one-half hours, one break for shifts between three and one-half and six hours, two breaks for shifts over six and up to ten hours, and three breaks for shifts over ten and up to fourteen hours. Where practicable, breaks should fall in the middle of each work period.

Rest Breaks Must Be Duty-Free and Off Call

A rest break must be free of all duty and free of employer control. In Augustus v. ABM Security Services, the California Supreme Court held that employers cannot require employees to remain on call during rest breaks. Carrying a radio or phone and having to respond if called defeats the break. Because the time is paid and counted as hours worked, you cannot be required to stay at your station or remain available.

The One-Hour Rest Break Premium

When a compliant rest break is not provided, your employer owes one additional hour of pay for each workday it was missed, at your regular rate of pay. As with meal premiums, that rate includes nondiscretionary bonuses and commissions, not just your base wage. A meal violation and a rest violation on the same day are separate, so you can be owed up to two premium hours in a single day, one for each.

Common Rest Break Violations

Rest break violations often come from understaffing and workload. Common examples include:

• No rest break on a shift long enough to require one
• Staffing so tight that leaving the station for a break is not realistic
• Being required to keep a phone or radio on and respond during breaks
• Breaks interrupted by customers, calls, or supervisors
• Tacking breaks onto the start or end of a shift instead of the middle
• Discouraging employees from taking the breaks they are owed

What You Can Recover

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

You generally have three years to pursue these claims under the Labor Code, and up to four years under the state’s unfair competition law. Acting promptly helps preserve schedules and records.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many rest breaks am I entitled to?

You are owed 10 minutes of paid rest for every four hours worked or major fraction of it. That is generally one break for shifts of three and one-half to six hours, two for shifts over six hours, and three for shifts over ten hours.

Are rest breaks paid?

Yes. Rest breaks are counted as time worked and must be paid, unlike meal periods, which are unpaid and off duty.

Can my employer make me stay on call during a rest break?

No. Under Augustus v. ABM, a rest break must be free of duty and control. Requiring you to remain on call or reachable makes the break noncompliant and triggers the premium.

What do I get if I do not receive a proper rest break?

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

Can I recover both a meal and a rest premium in the same day?

Yes. Meal and rest violations are separate, so you may be owed up to two premium hours in one day, one for a missed meal period and one for a missed rest break.

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.