Legal Question in Employment Law in California
Paid lunch breaks
My employer gives us an unpaid lunch break every day. However, on some occasions our boss tells us to come back to work before our entire 30 minutes is over. I understand that an employer has to pay an employee for one hour if they do not receive a full 30 minute rest period. Should I contact the labor board and can I remain anonymous?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Paid lunch breaks
Your understanding of the lunch period penalty is correct. In years past you could have made an anonymous complaint and an investigator might have conducted an audit to determine if the employer was violating employees' rights. However, that is very unlikely to happen now, due to the severe budget cuts and limited resources all state agencies have suffered. Now,you would have to file a claim against the employer, in which case the employer would have to know who complained, especially if you are looking to receive the penalty. If the practice happens often enough and many employees are effected, a private attorney may be interested in filing a civil action.
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