Meal Breaks

In Silicon Valley, nonexempt employees are typically entitled to an uninterrupted, duty-free, and unpaid minimum of 30 minutes that counts as a meal break after working a five hour shift. If these breaks are not granted, or if an employer pressures an employee to forgo their meal break, it constitutes a violation of wage and hour laws.

A qualifying meal break must begin prior to the completion of the fifth hour of an employee’s work shift. Any meal break may only be waived if the employee’s shift does not extend longer than six hours.

For those employees who are working a shift that extends longer than ten hours, a second meal break of a minimum of 30 minutes must be provided at no later than the tenth hour.

All employees are entitled to a lawful meal break in which they are relieved of all work duties and they are no longer under the direction of an employer for the entire duration of that break.

Employees must be provided this 30 minute break without interruption or expectation that they will be given further duties or cause to interrupt their meal break for any reason as directed by their employer.

The actual number of meal breaks provided to employees is not based entirely on shift hours but hours worked. Employees who are scheduled to work for ten hours, yet only work for two or three of those hours are not required to be provided the mandated meal break by their employer.

Furthermore, employees who take a meal break later than the legally provided five hours of their work shift are entitled to compensation for that additional hour worked at the normal hourly rate of their work shift.

In accordance with California labor law, employers are prohibited from discouraging, obstructing, or in any way otherwise causing their employees to refrain from taking a lawful meal break. Attempting to incentivize or intimidate employees from exercising their rights to a lawful meal break is also strictly prohibited under California labor codes.

While employers are mandated to provide lawful meal breaks to all nonexempt employees, they are not duty-bound under the law to ensure that those meal breaks are taken by their employees. Exercising those rights is strictly up to the employees who have been provided those meal breaks.

Employees who have worked six hours in one work shift are entitled to waive their right to a meal break. However, that waiver must first be agreed upon by both parties, employer and employee, prior to the meal break when due. Employees who have worked longer than ten hours in one shift but will not extend that shift longer than twelve hours may waive the second meal break, but only if the first meal break was taken.

Under California law, employees are not allowed to waive both meal breaks to which they are entitled in the course of a work shift. In addition, employees who have waived a meal break and worked during that time are not automatically entitled to end their shift early.

There are some job positions in which employees are unable to enjoy the standard meal break as the duties of the position prevent them from being relieved of their duties or stepping away from their post for a 30 minute interval. An example of such a job is a security guard.

Employees who work these jobs are still entitled to take meal breaks, but the definition is altered slightly as the break is paid instead of unpaid. This arrangement must be agreed upon by both parties, employer and employee, in writing. Employees who enter such an agreement must also be given the opportunity to terminate that arrangement should they wish to do so.

Employees who do not take the provided meal break are not entitled to compensation as a result.