Meal and Rest Break lawyers
California gives hourly workers some of the strongest break protections in the country. When your employer skips them, cuts them short, or keeps you working through them, the law requires an extra hour of pay for each day it happens, and those hours add up fast.
The breaks you're owed
A meal break can be waived only by mutual agreement on shorter shifts (six hours or less for the first, twelve or less for the second).
- A 30-minute unpaid meal break, starting before the end of your fifth hour, on any shift over five hours.
- A second 30-minute meal break, starting before the end of your tenth hour, on shifts over ten hours.
- A paid 10-minute rest break for every four hours worked, or major fraction of four hours.
- Breaks must be duty-free. If you're on call, answering the radio, or watching the register, it isn't a break.
Common violations
- Being told there's no one to cover, so breaks get skipped.
- Meal breaks that start in hour six, seven, or later.
- Breaks cut to 15 or 20 minutes to keep the line moving.
- Being expected to keep a phone or radio on during breaks.
- Timekeeping that auto-deducts 30 minutes whether or not you took lunch.
- Pay stubs that never show a premium for the breaks you missed.
How the math works
Under Labor Code section 226.7, your employer owes one hour of pay at your regular rate for each workday with a meal break violation, and another hour for each workday with a rest break violation. That is up to two extra hours a day.
Missing breaks three days a week at $25 an hour comes to roughly $3,900 a year, before penalties and interest. Claims usually reach back three years, and often four.
What you may be able to recover
- One hour of pay per day for missed meal breaks
- One hour of pay per day for missed rest breaks
- Penalties for inaccurate wage statements
- Waiting-time penalties if premiums weren't paid when you left
- Interest, attorney's fees, and costs
How long you have
Break premium claims generally reach back three years, and up to four years when paired with an unfair competition claim. Every month you wait, the oldest month drops off.
Deadlines depend on the facts of your case. The safest move is to call while you still have every option.
How we work
- No win, no fee
- Free consultation
- Available 24/7 by phone
- Hablamos español
Common questions
I'm salaried. Do break rules apply to me?
They apply to non-exempt employees. Many salaried workers are misclassified as exempt. If you mostly do hands-on or routine work, you may be owed breaks and overtime too.
My manager says I chose to skip my breaks.
Your employer must actually relieve you of duty and not discourage breaks. Heavy workloads, understaffing, or pressure to keep working can all still make it a violation.
Can I bring a claim while I still work there?
Yes. Retaliating against an employee for making a wage claim is illegal in California, and it creates a separate claim of its own.
Other practice areas
Talk to someone today. The consultation is free, and so is the call.
(424) 234-5229