In California, employees can sue their employer for missed meal and rest breaks, as well as for any other violations of California labor laws. The lawsuit can be filed as a class action or individually, and the employee may be able to recover unpaid wages, penalties, and other damages.
Are break rooms required by law in California? Yes, employers are required to provide break rooms for their employees, especially when the employee is part of on-site occupations, such as construction, drilling, logging, and mining industries.
If HR won't help you, go to your local labor board and report them. And if you do go to your local labor board, talk to a lawyer and let them know what's going on. Also, try and take your 30-minute breaks to show that you're following the law or at least trying to. Plus, it'll give you more evidence against your boss.
Roy Riehl on safety requirements applicable to lunch and rest breaks during an employee's workday. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has neither researched nor issued standards requiring that workers be permitted lunch and rest breaks in the course of their workday.
Employers must authorize and permit uninterrupted rest breaks for all nonexempt employees whose total daily work time is at least 3.5 hours. These mandatory rest breaks must be offered at 10 minutes for every four hours worked, or "major fraction" thereof.
In compliance with California labor laws, nonexempt employees are entitled to an unpaid meal or lunch break lasting a minimum of 30 minutes for shifts exceeding five hours. This break, which should commence before the completion of the fifth hour of work, can be waived only if the workday does not surpass six hours.
No, under California law rest period time is based on the total hours worked daily, and only one ten-minute rest period need be authorized for every four hours of work or major fraction thereof.
Q: Can you combine meal and rest breaks in California? A: Rest and meal breaks should not be combined. If you have worked for 12 hours, your boss cannot simply give you a 1-hour meal break and say that it qualifies for your entire meal break. Instead, you should be given two separate meal breaks.