Legal Question in Employment Law in California

I live in Ca and my company is having a major issue with the law on taking lunches. We work a 9/80 work schedule, which is 9 hours per day and we get every other Friday off, which equates to an 80 hour pay period.

The issue they are having is that they are claiming Ca state law states we must take a lunch within the first 5 hours of our work day. But from what I have read is that they don't have to give us a lunch until AFTER 5 hours of actual work. Employees are now getting written up because they are not taking lunches within the first 5 hours. Is this true for the Ca law? Thanks


Asked on 1/25/12, 6:44 am

1 Answer from Attorneys

California law is ambiguous on this point. The problem is that employers were trying to skirt the rule by not letting employees take lunches until the end of their shift. So the labor standards enforcement people have issued various conflicting rulings on when the break must be taken. It is pretty clear that unless the employee agrees in writing otherwise, the break must be made available to them within the first six hours. Some rulings have said 5. There are also rulings that the employer must make sure the employee takes the break and others that say the employee must simply be given the opportunity and relieved of all duties for 1/2 hour, but if the employee chooses to work through the break the employer cannot be penalized. The bottom line, though, is that even if you were 100% right that there is no legal requirement that the meal break be given within the first 5 hours, your employer has every right to control the timing of breaks, so long as they are not timed to circumvent the law (such as by giving you the break after 8.25 hours and then having you clock back in at 8.75 to 9). So they don't have to be right about their reason; they are free to require you to take your break in the first 5 hours for no reason at all.

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Answered on 1/25/12, 10:46 am


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