Meal and Rest Break Requirements in California
At a glance
| Governing law | Cal. Lab. Code §§ 512, 226.7 + the employee's current IWC industry/occupation wage order (Order 4 quoted here) |
|---|---|
| Required meal break | 30 minutes before work exceeds 5 hours; second 30 minutes before work exceeds 10 hours (§ 512(a)) |
| Required paid rest break | Paid 10 minutes per 4 hours or major fraction; none required below 3½ total daily hours (Order 4 § 12(A)) |
| Paid or unpaid? | Off-duty meal may be unpaid; on-duty meal is paid; required rest time counts as paid hours worked (Order 4 §§ 11-12) |
| Waiver and on-duty meals | First meal waivable by mutual consent if day ≤6 hours; second if day ≤12 and first was taken; on-duty meal needs necessity + revocable written agreement (§ 512(a); Order 4 § 11(A)) |
| Who is covered or exempt | Nonexempt employees under the applicable wage order; Order 4 excludes qualifying executive, administrative, and professional employees; § 512 has industry/CBA exceptions |
| Separate rule for minors | Covered minors follow the same Order 4 meal/rest schedule: § 11 covers 'any person' and § 12 covers 'all employees' |
| Remedy for a missed break | One additional hour at the regular rate for each workday a required meal is not provided, and separately for a required rest period (Order 4 §§ 11(B), 12(B); § 226.7(c)) |
Requirements one by one
Applying the meal clock
Cal. Lab. Code § 512(a) requires the first 30-minute meal before work exceeds five hours. A seven-hour shift therefore needs that meal even if both sides would prefer to skip it: the mutual waiver applies only when the whole day is no more than six hours. The second meal is due before work exceeds 10 hours; a day of no more than 12 hours can waive it only if the first meal was taken.
Paid rest and on-duty meals
IWC Wage Order 4-2001 § 12(A) directs employers to allow rest "insofar as practicable" near the middle of each work period. A seven-hour day ordinarily qualifies for two paid 10-minute rest periods: one for the first four hours and one for the major fraction of the next four. Order 4 § 11(A) counts a meal as work time unless the employee is relieved of all duty. An on-duty meal needs both the nature-of-work condition and a written agreement the employee may revoke in writing.
Coverage and missed breaks
Order 4 § 1(A) covers professional, technical, clerical, mechanical, and similar occupations but excludes qualifying executive, administrative, and professional employees from its break provisions. Its §§ 11(B) and 12(B) provide separate one-hour premiums for workdays missing a required meal or rest period. Cal. Lab. Code § 226.7(b)-(g) also states the one-hour premium for state-mandated breaks. Covered minors follow the same Order 4 meal and rest language; other child-labor limits are separate.
What trips people up
- Collective-bargaining exceptions. Cal. Lab. Code § 512(e)-(f) applies only to specified occupations with an agreement meeting detailed meal, arbitration, overtime-premium, and pay-rate conditions. Chapter 287 of the 2026 California Statutes (AB 2078), § 1, adds building-maintenance stationary engineers to that list on January 1, 2027; the current law has no such listed exception.
- The 2027 remedy text. Current § 226.7(g) repeals this version on January 1, 2027. The already-enacted § 226.7(f) becomes operative that day and retains the general missed-break premium. The expiring version has special security-officer rest language; its expiration does not erase the general remedy.
Statutes and sources
- Cal. Lab. Code § 512(a), (e)-(f). The current official text sets the 30-minute first- and second-meal rules, the short-shift waivers, and the qualifying-CBA exceptions. Official text (accessed October 2, 2026).
- IWC Wage Order 4-2001 § 1(A), § 11(A)-(B), and § 12(A)-(B). The current official order defines coverage, off-duty/on-duty meals, paid rest periods, and the one-hour missed-break premiums. Official PDF (accessed October 2, 2026).
- Cal. Lab. Code § 226.7(b)-(g). The current and already-enacted 2027 versions appear together in the official code article. Official text (accessed October 2, 2026).
- 2026 Cal. Stat. ch. 287 (AB 2078). The official chaptered act and bill history amend Labor Code § 512 to include building-maintenance stationary engineers in the qualifying-CBA exception; the chaptered version identifies urgency as “NO” and contains no special effective-date clause (accessed October 2, 2026). The Secretary of State's legislation page explains the ordinary January 1 effective-date rule (accessed October 2, 2026).
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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