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Practice Areas > Meal & Rest Break Lawyers
Rest Breaks and Meal Breaks are Required by California Law
How a Meal/Rest Break Class Action Works
A California meal or rest break class action allows an employee to seek relief for a group of workers affected by similar unlawful break practices. The process generally involves reviewing evidence, filing a lawsuit, obtaining class certification, and pursuing a settlement or court decision. Filing a lawsuit does not automatically make it a class action.
- Review your experience and records. An attorney examines your schedules, time records, pay statements, and account of missed, late, shortened, or interrupted breaks. You can request a review even if you do not have every document.
- Investigate whether other workers were affected. The review looks for shared practices, such as understaffing, automatic meal deductions, or expectations that employees remain available during breaks. Similar experiences may support a group claim.
- Choose the legal approach and file the lawsuit. Counsel evaluates the claims, filing deadlines, and any arbitration agreement. Depending on the circumstances, an individual claim, class action, PAGA claim, or combination may be appropriate.
- Gather evidence and seek class certification. Attorneys obtain records and testimony through discovery and ask the court to allow the claims to proceed for a defined group. The court evaluates whether class-action requirements are met, including whether common issues predominate.
- Pursue settlement or trial. The parties may negotiate or mediate. If the case does not settle, unresolved claims may proceed to trial. Certification does not establish that the employer violated the law.
- Complete court review and any distribution. A class settlement requires court approval and notice to class members. The notice explains applicable options and deadlines. Payments follow the approved settlement or judgment and any remaining proceedings.
What Is the Difference Between PAGA and a Class Action?
A class action seeks relief for employees; a PAGA action seeks civil penalties on behalf of the State of California. The same alleged break practices may support both types of claims, but their requirements and remedies differ.
- Class action: A representative employee seeks compensation for a defined group, potentially including unpaid meal or rest break premiums and other available relief. Class certification is required to litigate the claims on a classwide basis.
- PAGA representative action: An eligible employee pursues Labor Code civil penalties. PAGA does not require class certification. Before suing, the employee must notify the Labor and Workforce Development Agency (LWDA) and employer and complete applicable waiting and administrative procedures. Some violations may be addressed through statutory cure procedures.
- Distribution of PAGA penalties: For notices filed on or after June 19, 2024, recovered civil penalties are allocated 65% to LWDA and 35% to affected employees. Earlier notices generally use a 75%/25% allocation. This allocation applies to PAGA penalties, not the entire recovery in a combined case.
PAGA and class claims can sometimes proceed together, but neither is automatic. PAGA settlements also require court approval and submission to LWDA.
Could Your Missed Breaks Be Part of a Larger Pattern?
Request a Free Case Review
Tell Matern Law Group what happened. Our team can evaluate your break concerns and explain whether an individual, class, or PAGA claim may fit your situation.
If your employer is denying breaks, failing to provide breaks, or revoking previously granted breaks without your consent, the law is on your side. While some breaks may be waived by mutual agreement between you and your employer, they cannot be revoked by an employer without your approval.
Meal Break Laws
California’s labor code ensures lunch break rights for most hourly employees. In general, the law requires employers to provide an uninterrupted meal period of at least 30 minutes if an employee works more than five hours in a workday. These meal breaks generally need to conform to certain basic requirements, including the following:
- Scheduling: Meal breaks should be taken at regularly established intervals throughout the workday.
- Relief of Duty: During the break, employees must be completely relieved of all work duties. This means they can’t be answering emails, taking calls, or performing any job-related tasks.
- Location: Employees have the choice of whether to stay at the worksite or leave the premises during their meal break.
Second Break: Employees who work more than 10 hours in a day are entitled to a second meal break of at least 30 minutes. There may be some exceptions to these rules depending on your specific industry or job duties. If you have any questions about your right to meal breaks in California, consult an experience employment attorney at Matern Law Group.
Rest Break Laws
California’s break laws go beyond just meal breaks. Employees are also entitled to take rest periods throughout their workday. These breaks accrue at a rate of ten uninterrupted minutes for every four hours worked, or major fraction thereof. If your employer isn’t providing these breaks, or if there are issues with them, you might be entitled to compensation under California law. ] Like meal breaks, these rest breaks must meet certain basic requirements, including:
- Paid Time: Unlike meal breaks, which are typically unpaid, rest periods must be paid as regular wages.
- Timing: Ideally, rest breaks should be taken in the middle of the work period for optimal rejuvenation. However, employers should strive to make them feasible throughout the shift.
If you have any concerns about your employer following California’s break laws regarding rest periods, you can consult with an employment attorney for free at Matern Law Group.
