The Low Down on Meal Breaks and Rest Breaks
Meal and rest breaks are still a challenge for many employers and employees in California. The law is very clear but many times variables in scheduling, workload, staff levels and company culture, complicate the actual practice of ensuring and documenting meal breaks. Let’s go through a quick refresher and see if we can eliminate the interferences with ensuring compliance with meal and rest break regulations
Meal Breaks
To be clear, you must provide an uninterrupted, unpaid meal break of no less than 30 minutes for any employee working 5 hours. Meal breaks MUST be documented clearly with in and out times, not simply listed as “30 minutes” or “Lunch”. If 6 hours will complete the day, employee’s may waive their meal break but this must be documented in some form.
Second Meal Break
Employers must provide a second meal break of no fewer than 30 minutes for all workdays on which an employee works more than 10 hours. The second meal break must be provided no later than the end of an employee’s 10th hour of work.
On Duty Meal Breaks
Employees can take on-duty meal periods in certain limited circumstances. An on-duty meal break is permitted only when the nature of the work prevents an employee from being relieved of all duty. A meal break waiver must be agreed to and signed by the employee.
Rest Breaks
You must also provide an uninterrupted, paid rest break of at least 10 minutes for every 4 hours worked, or major portion thereof. Employees should be free to leave the premises or do what they want, free from any work-related duties.
Both meal and rest breaks should roughly fall in the middle of a work period, and cannot be combined to create a larger break.
Smoke Breaks
Multiple smoke breaks should be combined to satisfy the employee’s need to take 10-minute rest breaks. If an employee is taking multiple smoke breaks during the day, you as an employer have the right to restrict their smoke break to coincide with their rest breaks and meal breaks. Employees do not have a right, not even in California, to take multiple smoke breaks during the day outside their allotted meal and rest breaks.
Your Responsibility as an Employer
It is up to you as an employer to clearly communicate the necessity of meal and rest breaks to your employees, and to never allow them to skip or shorten a break. When they do, you must pay them for an additional hour (see below for details). To protect yourself, make sure you inform the employee in writing that they must take their meal breaks each day. If the employee continues to skip or short their lunch, you will need to apply further disciplinary action.
Manager Responsibility
Your managers should be fully informed of these regulations as well as plan for responding to issues that come up. Just because you as an owner were not informed that there were issues at the employee/manager level does not remove you from responsibility. Your managers are your first line of action, and defense. Be sure they understand their responsibilities.
Consequences for Failing to Provide Meal and Rest Breaks
For each workday that you fail to provide an employee a meal or rest period, you owe the employee one additional hour of pay at the employee’s regular rate. The additional hour of pay is a wage owed to the employee. Employees can wait up to three years to claim unpaid wages.
Conclusion
Meal and rest breaks are still a major factor in labor board claims and can be part of larger claims or lawsuits. Attorney’s will usually throw in meal and rest breaks with any lawsuit if there is at all missing information or conflicting statements from employees as to the employer’s actions and practice.
As an employer, take this seriously, as well as other foundational HR practices and you will reduce your employer liability in this area and remove the opportunity for disgruntled employees or lawyers to file false claims.
Infinium HR can assist you with policies, forms and best practices advice. Just contact our experts at (888) 725-8416 or by email at info@infiniumhr.com.