Under California law, non-exempt (hourly) employees are required a 30-minute uninterrupted meal break when working 5-10 hours. A second 30-minute break is required for a non-exempt employee working 10-15 hours. The following requirements must be followed:
Meal Break Law Requirements:
- If you have an employee that is working a 6-hour shift, they are entitled to a 30-minute meal break but the employee and employer can agree to waive the meal period.
- Since this meal period is off-the-clock, the employee is allowed to leave the premises and use the meal break as they wish to.
- Meal and rest breaks can NOT be combined to create one long break.
California has strict laws on rest breaks as well, 1 break for 3.5-6 hours of work and 2 breaks for 6-10 hours of work.
Rest Break Law Requirements:
- Must be a consecutive 10 minutes uninterrupted
- These rest breaks must be paid
- Employees do NOT have to remain on the premises during the break
The charts below will provide you with a complete list of shifts and the number of required breaks they should be provided.
Hours on the Clock | Rest Breaks |
0 – 3:29 hrs | 0 |
3:30 – 6 hrs | 1 |
| 6:01 – 10 hrs | 2 |
10:01 – 14 hrs | 3 |
14:01 – 18 hrs | 4 |
| 18:01 – 22 hrs | 5 |
Hours on the Clock | Meal Breaks |
0 – 5 hrs | 0 |
5:01 – 10 hrs | 1 |
| 10:01 – 15 hrs | 2 |
| 15:01 – 20 hrs | 3 |
| 20:01 + | 4 |
