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Meal Periods

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Under California law, employers are required to make available meal periods to non-exempt employees. The general rule is that an employer must provide an employee that works more than five (5) hours per day with a meal period (also known as a "lunch" or "lunch break") that is at least 30 minutes long. The meal period must be taken within the first five (5) hours worked. If the meal period is taken after five (5) hours then it is late. In addition, if the employee works longer than 10 hours per day, then he or she must be allowed to take a second meal period of at least 30 minutes. Similar to the first meal period, the second meal period must be taken before the end of the tenth (10) hour of work. Under some circumstances, the meal period may be waived. In addition, the meal periods must not be interrupted with work and the employee must be relieved of all duties.

 

If an employer fails to provide a timely, uninterrupted, 30 minute meal period, then the employer must pay the employee one additional hour of pay at the employee's regular rate of pay. 

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Examples of Common Violations

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Here are some common examples of meal period violations:

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  • Late meal periods - an employee is unable to take his first meal break until after his fifth (5) hour of work due to a busy workload.

  • Interrupted meal periods - an employer interrupts its employees during their meal periods to answer calls, complete an assignments, or run work related errands. 

  • Short meal periods - an employee must cut his meal period short (less than 30 minutes) and return to work due to a busy workday. 

  • Not off-duty - an employer requires its employees to take their meal periods at the work site and employees are not free to leave the premises to eat elsewhere such as McDonald's.  

  • Working during meal periods - an employee is required to eat while working due to his or her busy work schedule.

  • Fake meal periods - clocking out for lunch, returning to work during the purported meal period, and clocking back in from lunch after 30 minutes. 

  • Failure to pay premiums - an employer fails to pay its employees one extra hour of pay at the employees' regular rate of pay for meal periods violations such as late, short, and missed meal periods. 

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Remedies

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An employer that fails to provide meal periods must pay an additional hour of pay at the employee's regular rate of pay for each workday that a violation occurred in addition to other remedies. For more information or if you believe your employer owes you wages, contact us for a free consultation. 

Fullerton Main Office:

1440 N. Harbor Blvd., Ste. 900

Fullerton, CA 92835

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Orange Office:

1100 W. Town & Country Rd.

Ste. 1250

Orange, CA 92868

(949) 590-4122

dh@danielhyunlaw.com

Hours: Monday-Friday

8:30a.m. - 5p.m.

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