Meal Break and Rest Break Related Resources

Forms

• Meal Break - On Duty
• Meal Break - On Duty - Spanish
• Meal Break Waiver - Employee Shift 6 Hours or Less
• Meal Break Waiver - Employee Shift 6 Hours or Less - Spanish
• Meal Break Waiver - Second Meal
• Meal Break Waiver - Second Meal - Spanish

Q&As

• Can the 10-minute rest break be waived?
• Can I assign a time when an employee must take a lunch break?
• Can we automatically deduct a half-hour for meal period if an employee doesn't clock in and out?
• If an employee wants to leave early, may he waive his meal period?
• Can I have my employees combine their two rest breaks into a single 20-minute rest break?
• Are employers' meal and rest break obligations the same?
• Are there any exceptions to California’s meal and rest break rules?
• Are interstate truck drivers covered by California’s meal and rest breaks laws?
• Is the meal break penalty used in calculating overtime?
• Are meal break requirements determined by the total length of an employee’s shift, or by the number of hours actually worked?
• Do I owe an employee a one-hour meal period premium because their lunch break was late or only if they didn’t get a meal break at all?
• Can the meal period requirement be waived for a working lunch?
• When an employer fails to provide two rest breaks and two meal breaks in the same day, is an employee entitled to four hours?
• Is there an official rule stating that meal breaks must start 4 hours and 59 minutes into an employee’s eight-hour shift?
• Do I have to pay additional wages for a rest break if we pay our employees by piece rate?
• We are having problems with employees taking long rest breaks to be on their cell phones. What can we do to curb this problem?
• How can we prove that employees are being provided their rest breaks?
• Must I provide a break area or room for my employees?
• How often do we have to renew the written meal period waiver?
• Can we require employees to remain on our premises during rest breaks?
• Are there any situations where an employer might be legally required to change an employee’s meal break schedule?
• What do I do about smokers who take more breaks than non-smokers take?
• How much time do I have to give my employees for meal and rest breaks?