Work & Employment · Pay and hours
Meal and rest breaks
In this guide
- Most non-exempt employees get a 30-minute meal period when working more than 5 hours.
- Paid 10-minute rest breaks are generally required for every 4 hours worked, or major fraction.
- A missed break generally means one extra hour of pay for that day.
Meal periods
For most non-exempt employees, an employer must provide a 30-minute meal period beginning no later than the end of the fifth hour of work. It can be unpaid if the employee is fully relieved of duty. When a shift is no more than 6 hours, the employer and employee can agree to waive it. A second meal period is generally required for shifts over 10 hours.
Rest periods
Employers must authorize and permit a paid 10-minute rest period for every 4 hours worked, or major fraction of 4 hours. Rest breaks should fall in the middle of each work period when practical. Employers may not require employees to remain on call during rest breaks.
Premium pay
When an employer doesn’t provide a required meal or rest period, the employee is owed one additional hour of pay at the regular rate for each workday a meal period is missed, and another for each workday a rest period is missed.
Some industries have different rules under their Industrial Welfare Commission wage orders.
Official sources for this guide
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