Legal Question in Business Law in California

From the Dept. of Industrial Relations site, it would appear that you are entitled to a 12 minute paid rest period in the middle of your 5-hour work day.

Q: What are the basic requirements for rest periods under California law?

A: California employees covered by the rest period provisions of the Industrial Welfare Commission Wage Orders must be provided with a net 10-minute paid rest period for every four hours worked or major fraction thereof. Insofar as is practicable, the rest period should be in the middle of the work period. If an employer fails to provide an employee a rest period, the employer shall pay the employee one hour of pay at the employee's regular rate of pay for each workday that the rest period is not provided.

Q: Must the rest periods always be in the middle of each four-hour work period?

A:Rest breaks must be given as close to the middle of the four-hour work period as is practicable. If the nature or circumstances of the work prevent the employer from giving the break at the preferred time, the employee must still receive the required break, but may take it at another point in the work period.

Q: My employer is not allowing me to take a rest period. Is there anything I can do about this situation?

A: Yes, there is something you can do if you are an employee covered by the rest period requirements of the Industrial Welfare Commission Wage Orders. If your employer fails to provide the required rest period, you are to be paid one hour of pay at your regular rate of compensation for each workday that the rest period is not provided. If your employer fails to pay the additional one-hour's pay, you may file a wage claim with the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement.

In most cases, California employers must be provide employees with a net 10-minute paid rest period for every four hours worked or major fraction thereof. In general, the rest period should be in the middle of the work period. Meal periods are only required if you work more than 5 hours in a shift.

As I understand your question, it is about meal breaks, not rest periods. The applicable law is Labor Code section 512. Its subsection 512(a) calls for a 30-minute meal break during shifts that exceed five hours, and a second 30-minute meal break for shifts exceeding 10 hours, except that if both the employee and employer agree, the five and ten hour periods can be stretched to six and twelve hours, respectively.

In addition, note that Labor Code subsection 512(b) sets up the possibility of exceptions to the above rules if the Labor Commissioner adopts a "working conditions order" that allows a longer period of time before a meal break if a finding is made that the longer period of time won't adversely affect the employees' health and welfare. Such exceptions may be requested and approved for people like airline pilots or security guards where continuous attention to some duty may be necessary (I don't know).

Finally, subsection (c) and (d) provide statutory special rules for people in the baking and motion-picture industries, respectively. Why? I don't know.