California Labor Code Section 512 sets strict rules for meal breaks, waivers, and penalties when employers fail to comply. Workers gain protection through required uninterrupted breaks, premium pay for violations, and special rules for certain industries and union agreements.
By Brad Nakase, Attorney
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Worker meal breaks and when they must be given are outlined in California Labor Code Section 512. It describes a few particular situations with different regulations, including commercial drivers hauling particular commodities or workers in the motion picture business.
In general, California Labor Code Section 512 requires that workers take a 30-minute meal break following five hours of labor in a single day. The remainder of the law either elaborates on this or makes special provisions for certain employees in specialized sectors.
If an employee works no longer than six hours in a single day, they may elect to forego their dinner break. An additional 30-minute break for a meal is offered to workers who put in more than ten hours in a single workday, albeit this one may be skipped if the first one wasn’t.
Labor Code Section 512 establishes specific requirements for workers in the film sector, commercial truckers hauling supplies from an industrial feed factory, and wholesale bakers with specific union regulations.
If the next two conditions are met, certain employees are not offered a break beyond five hours and 2 breaks for ten hours. The first is that they are protected by a collective bargaining agreement, and the second is that the union offers the workers food breaks, among other benefits. Workers in construction, commercial drivers, some security guards, and employees of public utilities (such as gas or electricity) are among the specific workers who can meet this need.
The number of lunch breaks that employees have the right to depends on the amount of time they worked that day. They are not entitled to a meal break according to California Labor Code Section 512 if they work fewer than five hours in a single day. One thirty-minute dinner break is given to them if they have put in anywhere from five to six hours during a day. As long as the worker isn’t working for over six hours, both parties may agree to forego this break.
When an employee is granted an undisturbed meal break, they are free to do nearly anything during that time. It includes exiting the office and taking care of any personal matters they may have. During their unbroken break, they are released from their work responsibilities. Employees should be aware of this since businesses are not allowed to coerce workers into working during lunch breaks.
There may be a penalty cost for employers who do not give their workers a meal break. Often, an additional hour of pay, sometimes called a “meal break premium”, compensates the worker for the absence of a break. Workers who are denied their meal breaks have the option to submit a claim to the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement.
Example 1: An employee puts in six hours and is not given a meal break.
An accountant at a retail store wants to take a meal break at the fifth hour of his usual six-hour duty. He does that properly and completes his shift afterward. The manager chastises him. He argued that since the shift is just six hours long, the meal break was waived.
Violation: No agreement was reached to forego the meal break.
The Protections of Labor Code Section 512: An employee has the right to a meal break if they work over five hours during a day. If they have not worked for over six hours during the day, employees may skip this break, but both the employer and the employee have to agree to the waiver. Employers and employees are unable to arbitrarily dismiss the break.
Second Case: An employee works eight hours and gets interrupted during his meal break.
Situation: Five hours through his shift, a manufacturing worker takes a food break. He drives home during this time and watches a portion of a football match while he eats. He comes to his job before the allotted thirty minutes have passed and doesn’t spend more time than his break. When he returns, his boss retaliates against him for quitting the workplace.
Violation: An unbroken break is being unfairly punished by the employer.
The Protections of Labor Code Section 512: An employee who works six to ten hours a day has the right to an unbroken break, which allows them to go outside and take care of personal matters. For doing that, an employee cannot face retaliation from their company.
Third Case: A worker performs six hours without taking a meal break
During the six-hour shift, the worker reaches the 5-hour point. The boss denies him a break for food.
Inappropriate refusal to grant a food break is a violation.
The Protections of Labor Code Section 512: Unless it is waived, a worker who performs a six-hour job has the right to one thirty-minute meal break. The employer violated Labor Code Section 512. He refused the employee’s break after the worker had put in enough hours that day to merit it.
Please remember that the aforementioned are merely illustrations and do not represent legal counsel for any circumstances that resemble the ones mentioned.
Employees can take a few precautions to make sure their meal breaks don’t cause any problems. Even if lunch breaks are not absolutely required by the duration of a shift, workers should always take them at the right times (unless they have the option to waive their lunch hour and do so). Employees should avoid unintentionally accruing overtime. They can support their employer to comply with California labor regulations by taking food breaks at the proper times.
Employees need to record their hours for each shift and schedule lunch breaks appropriately. It’s always good to keep a record of when they should be taking them. This can, in turn, ensure that the staff member’s job hours will be correct and represent the time they actually worked.
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