
In California, employers must authorize and permit nonexempt employees to take an off duty rest period that must be taken in the middle of each work period. The rest period is based on the total hours worked daily and must be at the minimum rate of a net ten consecutive minutes for each four hour work period, or major fraction thereof. The Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE) considers anything more than two hours to be a “major fraction” of four.” A rest period is not required for employees whose total daily work time is less than three and one-half hours. The rest period is counted as time worked and therefore, the employer must pay for such periods.
If an employer fails to provide an employee a rest period in accordance with California law, the employer shall pay the employee one additional hour of pay at the employee’s regular rate of pay for each workday that the rest period is not provided.
The rest period is defined as a “net” ten minutes, which means that the rest period begins when the employee reaches an area away from the work area that is appropriate for rest. Employers are required to provide suitable resting facilities that shall be available for employees during working hours in an area separate from the toilet rooms.
With more than 40 years of combined legal experience, the attorneys at Righetti · Glugoski, P.C., have the skills and knowledge to help you recover compensation from your employer for common labor law violations such as unpaid meal breaks and unpaid break time. From our offices in San Francisco, our firm represents individuals throughout California, from Oakland to Sacramento to Los Angeles and San Diego.
If you and your co-workers have been denied appropriate meal breaks or rest breaks or have other pay disputes, we encourage you to contact us. Your consultation is free and we do not charge any attorneys’ fees unless we recover compensation for you.
Call us at 415-983-0900 or toll-free at 800-447-5549. You can also contact us online to learn more.
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