Meal Breaks Pay Laws In California
Under California law employers are required to provide employees with at least a 30-minute meal break if they work in excess of five hours in a day and if they work more than 10 hours in one day then they are entitled to a second meal period of at least 30 minutes. During this meal break an employee cannot be performing any duties of work and must be permitted to leave the premises, otherwise, the meal period time counts at the time worked.
If an employer fails to give an employee the appropriate meal break under the law, an employee may be entitled to recover one additional hour of pay at the employee’s regular rate of pay for each workday where a meal break was not provided. However, there are some exceptions to this rule regarding meal breaks.
The statute of limitations under the Federal Fair Labor and Standards Act is two years, but it is extended to three years for “willful” violations. The statute of limitations for wage claims under California law is generally four years from the time the compensation was due.
Stephen Danz & Associates is a statewide California law firm that’s dedicated to representing employees in disputes against their employers. Stephen Danz & Associates based in Los Angeles, California, protects clients from retaliation, discrimination, and harassment involving dismissal, demotion, or denial of accommodation based on age, race, sex, religion, color, sexual orientation, marital status, association, physical or mental disability, or other legally protected classifications. Additionally, we represent employees in that they have not been paid the proper wages including overtime or minimum wage or given the proper meal breaks. If you believe that you have not been given proper meal breaks, contact one of our Employment Attorneys in Los Angeles to set up your free consultation to discuss this matter with our lawyers. We take cases on a contingency basis and collect no attorney fees unless we win your case.