Meal Break Claims

California law generally requires employers to provide non-exempt employees with a second unpaid meal period of at least 30 minutes when the employee works a work period of more than ten hours per day. If the employee is not relieved of all duty during a thirty minute meal period or the meal period is not uninterrupted, the meal period shall be considered an “on duty” meal period and counted as time worked and must be paid for that time.

If the employee is not free to leave the work premises or worksite during the meal period, even if the employee is relieved of all other duty during the meal period, the employee is subject to the employer’s control and the meal period is generally counted as time worked and must be paid for that time.

If California employer fails to provide a non-exempt employee a duty-free meal period in accordance with the law, California law generally requires the employer to pay the employee one hour of pay at the employee’s regular rate of compensation for each work day that the employer failed to provide the employee with a meal period in compliance with the law.

No matter how many meal periods are missed per workday, only one missed meal period payment may be imposed per workday.

A complex set of laws govern the requirements that California employers provide non-exempt employees with meal periods. Numerous exceptions exist which alter an employer’s duty to provide an employee with meal periods. To navigate the complex statutes regarding whether you are receiving meal periods in compliance with California law, you need to speak to an experienced attorney who is familiar with the law in this area.

If you believe that your employer has failed to follow the law in payment of your wages, contact Lavi & Ebrahimian, LLP today for a free consultation with an experienced employment attorney who will evaluate your options under the law to enable you to obtain the most complete relief possible.