meal and rest break Attorney

Don’t Let Your Employer Violate Your Right To Meal And Rest Breaks

An employer might think that perpetually cutting lunch short or demanding that an employee continue to work when they’re entitled to rest is “no big deal.” They’re wrong. Failure to provide meal and rest breaks is a serious employment law violation in California. If your employer has denied your right to meals and paid rest breaks, you could be entitled to significant wages, especially if your meal or rest break rights have been violated over weeks, months, or even more than a year.

The attorneys at ARCH Legal PC have extensive experience in this complex area of employment law, and we know where to look to uncover violations. We are a dedicated, respected team of trial lawyers who will not hesitate to fight for you in court if that is the best option for your case. We proudly represent individual employees and groups of employees whose rights to meal and rest breaks have been violated. We want to help you, too.

To arrange a consultation with an experienced employment law attorney, please call ARCH Legal PC at (866) 331-1338 or contact us by email. We represent workers in San Diego and throughout California.

No Room for Debate: California Has Enshrined Your Right To Paid Rest Breaks Into Law

If you are a nonexempt employee in California, odds are that your employer must provide you with:

• A paid ten-minute rest break for every four hours you are on the clock
• Necessary breaks to keep you safe in hot or otherwise unsafe conditions
• Freedom from retaliation if you insist on receiving the breaks you are entitled to

The language of the law is not crystal clear. For instance, you may be entitled to a break if you worked “a major fraction” of four hours. An employer might wrongfully deny a break to someone who has worked three hours and forty-five minutes, for instance, which would be a clear violation of employment law.

Our California employment law attorneys understand both the letter and the spirit of the law relating to mandatory breaks. Let us evaluate your circumstances, determine how your employer may have violated your rights, and develop a plan for securing any compensation you are entitled to.

As a California Employee, You Also Have an Indisputable Right To Meal Breaks

California law also entitles most employees to:

• A 30-minute unpaid meal break anytime you work more than five hours in a day—critically, this break must be “uninterrupted”
• Another 30-minute unpaid meal break if you work more than 12 hours in a day
• Once again, freedom from retaliation if you insist on taking a meal break despite pressure to continue working or cut the break short

Generally, meal breaks must be at least 30 minutes long and completely free of work-related duties. The laws are clear that “unless the employee is relieved of all duty during his or her thirty-minute meal period, the meal period shall be considered an ‘on duty’ meal period…which must be compensated at the employee’s regular rate of pay.”

Are Meal and Rest Breaks Truly Mandatory in California?

Yes. No informal agreement or mandate from your employer takes precedence over California law. This is important because:

• Employees often feel that they need to honor their employer’s wishes or demands or face potential retaliation (including potential termination). The law is there to protect them from such pressures.
• Some employers feel that, because they pay their employees, they are entitled to tell them when to take a break (or not take a break). Once again, the law is in place to protect you from employers who would abuse your time or neglect your well-being.
• When employers violate laws related to meal and rest breaks, they can cause harm that extends well beyond unpaid wages—they can jeopardize the employee’s psychological well-being, emotional health, physical health, and ability to earn a living sustainably

Rest breaks are generally mandatory in California. Even if you agreed with your employer to forgo a rest break, you are still entitled to a break-time penalty, even if you and your employer decide that you can skip a rest break.

Employers Face Penalties When They Violate Employees’ Right to Take Breaks

You might be thinking, “If my employer did not grant me a ten-minute rest break or a thirty-minute lunch period (which was unpaid anyway), how could I possibly have a case for unpaid wages?”

Our answer: Any violation of your rights warrants an appropriate legal response and likely a financial recovery. There is also the matter of penalties, which can substantially increase the amount of compensation employees deserve when they’re deprived of uninterrupted breaks.

Meal and rest break penalties are penalties that employers must pay for violating California’s meal and rest break laws. Those penalties can include:

• For violating your right to an unpaid meal break: The current meal penalty in California is one hour’s wages for each day the employee did not get a meal break
• For violating your right to a paid rest break: The current rest penalty in California is one hour’s wages for each day the employee did not get a rest break
• For not providing either type of break: You may be entitled to significantly more wages if an employer fails to provide either type of break, whether once, a handful of times, or repeatedly

These penalties can add up. You may be entitled to a substantial sum of unpaid wages, especially if an employer engaged in a pattern of violating your right to take a break.

Examples of What Meal and Rest Break Violations May Look Like

Not every employee is familiar with their right to take both meal and rest breaks. Some employers can take advantage of employees’ unfamiliarity, fear of losing their jobs, and inexperience by:

• Failing to inform employees that they are legally entitled to lunch and rest breaks
• Claiming that the employees are not entitled to breaks
• Misrepresenting the amount of time the employee has worked to deprive them of breaks
• Requesting that the employee work while eating their lunch
• Carrying on with work-related activities, such as a meeting, when they should break for lunch or rest
• Failing to provide spaces where employees can truly take a break from work activities
• Not paying the employee “penalty pay” or “premium pay,” which is the extra hour of pay that employees are entitled to when they don’t receive a break they are entitled to

An employment law attorney from ARCH Legal PC will speak with you about your work history. You will share any break-related rights violations you can recall, and we may enlighten you about violations that you weren’t even aware were violations.

Protecting employees is what we do. Allow us to enforce your rights and seek a just outcome for any rights violations you’ve suffered.

Questioning Whether an Employer Violated Your Right to Breaks? Turn to ARCH Legal PC for Help

ARCH Legal PC is a law firm that is thoroughly dedicated to employees in California. We know how employers often have the upper hand and how those employers too often take advantage of employees with seemingly little recourse to defend themselves. Actually, you do have recourse. You have ARCH Legal PC.

Choose us to seek fair compensation for any meal and rest break violations because:

• Our results in employment law cases speak for themselves: ARCH Legal PC has secured more than $200 million in settlements and verdicts for our clients. Our record of recoveries includes many eight- and seven-figure recoveries, including cases against well-known national and international employers
• Clients are family at ARCH Legal PC: You will have our full attention and empathy. Expect proactive communication, a team that listens when you speak, and a lawyer who is wholly invested in securing the compensation you are entitled to
• Employment law is complex and nuanced, which is why we focus so intently on this field of law: Though it’s clear you are entitled to breaks as an employee in California, little else about employment law is so cut and dry. Our attorneys have been studying and applying California employment law (which is frequently changing, by the way) for many years. Allow us to be your legal advocates, as your case will surely be highly technical and complicated
• We help clients in all industries dealing with employers of all kinds: Every employee in California is entitled to rights and protections. Regardless of which industry you occupy or have occupied, ARCH Legal PC is ready to fight for you

You may deserve compensation for unpaid breaks, unpaid penalties, and various other damages caused by your employer. We will evaluate your damages and pursue the financial recovery you deserve.

Schedule Your Consultation with ARCH Legal PC Today. Don’t Wait.

Get the answers you deserve today. Our team is always available, and we will provide personalized advice, direct answers to your questions, and a roadmap for what lies ahead.

Call the lawyers at ARCH Legal PC at (866) 331-1338 or contact us by email with a description of your situation. We can help, so don’t wait.