California Break Exception Rules

Overview

California compliance practices indicate that workers must be given an opportunity to take a duty-free and uninterrupted meal period in these conditions:

  • If the worker performs more than five hours of work per day, a thirty minute meal period should be provided.
  • If the worker performs more than ten hours of work per day, a second thirty minute meal period should be provided.

These rules should be used a compliance reference only. Please contact your agency for specifics on how labor law impacts your company.

Penalties

California compliance indicates that a meal period premium of one hour of penalty pay should be applied when a worker misses a meal break or when work causes a meal period to become shortened, interrupted, or later than indicated.

  • These work sourced interruptions are typically referred to as Due to Work throughout the application.

If the worker was relieved of all duties and responsibilities and did not chose not to take the meal period, then no premium or penalty should be applied.

  • These non-work sourced interruptions are typically referred to as My Choice or Employee Choice.

Agencies will pay no more than two penalties per day for meal and rest period premiums. This total of two penalties may be comprised of:

  • One penalty for meal break violations.
  • One penalty for rest break violations.

Waivers

A waiver is a document signed by an employee that waives a worker's requirement to take a break. If a signed meal waiver is on file, workers may waive meal periods in these cases:

  • Workers may waive the first meal period if the total worked time is more than five hours and less than six hours and a First Meal Period Exception is triggered
  • Workers may waive the second meal period if total worked time is more than ten hours and less than twelve hours and a First Meal Period Exception is not waived.

Rules

Learn more about the exception types included in each exception rule set in Bullhorn Time & Expense.

  • First type exceptions occur for work spans of greater then five hours and less than ten hours.
  • Second type exceptions apply to work spans of ten hours or more.

CA (California) Standard Rules

First meal period is considered missing if either of the following are true:

  • Total worked hours is between five and ten hours and there have not been any breaks taken longer than five minutes.

    or
  • Total hours worked is greater than ten and the number of breaks longer than five minutes is zero.
    • An exception is also created if the number of five minute or less breaks is one and break start is after the five hours mark.

Second meal period is flagged as missing if any of these conditions are true:

  • If total worked time is greater than ten hours and there are no breaks longer than five minutes.

    or
  • If total worked time is greater than ten hours, one break longer than five minutes was started prior to five hours and one minute into the shift.

Meal periods are flagged as this type if:

  • The total worked hours is greater than five hours...
    • And no breaks exist with a length of five minutes or more that were started before the fifth hour.
    • And no breaks exist with a length of thirty minutes or more that were started before the fifth hour.

Second meal periods will get flagged as short if:

  • Total worked hours is greater than ten hours...
    • And there are two breaks with spans longer than five minutes each that started before the tenth work hour or one break longer than five minutes started before the tenth hour and a Missed First Meal Period exception exists.
    • And there are no thirty minute breaks started before the tenth hour of work or one thirty minute minimum break starting before the ten hour mark in the shift and a Short First Meal Period Exception.

Meal periods are considered late when:

  • Total worked hours is greater than five hours and no breaks were taken that are longer than five minutes that started before the five hour mark in the shift.

Triggered when:

  • Total worked hours is greater than ten hours and there are not 2 breaks longer than five minutes that started before the tenth work hour.

    or
  • There is one break longer than five minutes that started before the tenth work hour and a Missed First Meal Period Exception.

CA Standard 301 Rules

This rule set is similar to the California Standard Rule set, but triggers meal period exceptions at these workspans:

  • Five hours and one minute.
  • Ten hours and one minute.

First meal period is considered missing if either of the following are true:

  • Total hours worked is between 5:01 and 10:01 hours and there have not been any breaks taken longer than five minutes.

    or
  • Total hours worked is greater than 10:01 and the number of breaks longer than five minutes is zero.
    • An exception is also created if the number of five minute or less breaks is one and break start is after the 5:01 hours mark.

Second meal period is flagged as missing if any of these conditions are true:

  • If total worked time is greater than 10:01 hours and there are no breaks longer than five minutes.

    or
  • If total worked time is greater than 10:01 hours, one break longer than five minutes was started prior to five hours and one minute into the shift.

Meal periods are flagged as this type if:

  • If the total worked hours is greater than 5:01 hours...
    • And no breaks exist with a length of five minutes or more that were started before 5:01 hours into the shift.
    • And no breaks exist with a length of thirty minutes or more that were started before 5:01 hours into the shift.

Second meal periods will get flagged as short if:

  • Total worked minutes is greater than 10:01 hours...
    • And there are two breaks with spans longer than five minutes each that started before 10:01 hours into the shift or one break longer than five minutes started before 10:01 hours into the shift and a Missed First Meal Period exception exists.
    • And there are no thirty minute breaks started before 10:01 hours into the shift or one thirty minute minimum break starting before 10:01 hours into the shift and a Short First Meal Period Exception.

Meal periods are considered late when:

  • Total worked hours is greater than 5:01 hours and no breaks were taken that are longer than five minutes that started before 5:01 hours into the shift.

Triggered when:

  • Total worked hours is greater than 10:01 hours and there are not two breaks longer than five minutes that started before 10:01 hours into the shift.

    or
  • There is one break longer than five minutes that started before 10:01 hours into the shift and a Missed First Meal Period Exception.

CA Modified Rules

This rule set is similar to the California Standard Rule set, but does not distinguish between Late and Missing Meal Period Exceptions. Users are prompted to respond only once if one or both of these exceptions are generated.

Meal periods are flagged as this type if:

  • If the total worked hours is greater than five hours...
    • And no breaks exist with a length of five minutes or more that were started before the fifth hour.
    • And no breaks exist with a length of thirty minutes or more that were started before the fifth hour.

Second meal periods will get flagged as short if:

  • Total worked hours is greater than ten hours...
    • And there are two breaks with spans longer than five minutes each that started before the tenth work hour...
      • And there are no breaks at least thirty minutes in length with a start time before the tenth work hour.
      • And there is not one thirty minute break with a start time before 600 minutes and a Short First Meal Period Exception.
  • Or one break longer than five minutes started before the tenth hour and a Late/Missed First Meal Period exception exists.
    • And there are no thirty minute breaks in the work span.

Meal periods are considered late/missing when:

  • Total worked hours is greater than five hours and no breaks were taken that are longer than five minutes that started before the five hour mark in the shift.

Triggered when:

  • Total worked hours is greater than ten hours and there are not two breaks longer than five minutes that started before the tenth work hour.

    or
  • There is no break longer than five minutes that started before the tenth work hour and a Missed First Meal Period Exception.