Meal and rest breaks

What does “meal and rest breaks” mean?

Meal and rest breaks are the unpaid meal periods and paid rest periods a California employer must provide to non-exempt employees, scheduled by reference to hours worked.

The employer's obligation is to provide the opportunity (relieving the employee of duty and not impeding the break) rather than to police that it was taken. But records that show breaks were routinely missed or short shift the practical burden back onto the employer.

A missed or non-compliant break generally gives rise to premium pay for that day, and those premiums are themselves wages, which means they can flow into other calculations.