California workers are entitled to more than just a paycheck — they are entitled to time to rest, eat, and recharge. The California Labor Code and Industrial Welfare Commission (IWC) Wage Orders require employers to provide meal and rest breaks at specific intervals during the workday. When employers deny, interrupt, or discourage these breaks, they violate state law and owe premium pay to affected employees.

Meal breaks: Employees who work more than five hours in a day must receive an uninterrupted 30-minute meal period during which they are completely relieved of duty and free to leave the worksite. A second meal period is required if the employee works more than ten hours in a day. Meal breaks must be truly off-duty — if an employee is required to remain on call, answer phones, or handle work tasks, the meal period is considered on duty and must be paid.

Rest breaks: Employees are also entitled to paid 10-minute rest breaks for every four hours worked (or major fraction thereof). Rest breaks must be duty-free and cannot be combined with meal periods or delayed until the end of a shift. Employers have an affirmative obligation to authorize and permit rest breaks; simply allowing them in theory is not enough if workloads or scheduling practices effectively prevent employees from taking them.

If an employer fails to provide a compliant meal or rest break, California law requires payment of one additional hour of pay at the employee’s regular rate for each day a violation occurs. These premium payments are wages that must appear on paystubs and be paid timely, or additional penalties may accrue.

At Levine Labor Law, we represent employees who are routinely denied lawful breaks, pressured to work through lunch, or discouraged from resting. We calculate unpaid premiums, wage-statement penalties, and waiting-time penalties to recover the full amount owed — holding employers accountable for every missed break and every lost hour.