Rest Peroid Regulations

• California labor law requires employees be given a 10-minute rest period for every four hours worked. An employer must attempt to grant this rest period as close to the middle of the four-hour work period as possible. If the nature of the work prevents this from happening, the employee doesn't forfeit the rest period and must still receive it by the end of the four-hour work window. It is illegal for an employer to count a bathroom break as an employee's 10-minute rest period under California labor law.
  
  

Meal Break Rules

• For every five hours worked, an employer must provide a worker with an uninterrupted 30-minute meal break. This is the case for every city in California including San Diego. An employee may waive the right to a meal break if she only works six hours in a given shift. It is illegal for an employer to refuse to give a employee a meal break though an employer may require a worker to remain on-duty while taking her meal break. If this is the case, California law requires the employer to pay the worker for the 30-minute meal period.
  
  

Filing a Wage Claim

• Under California law, if an employer fails to provide a worker with an appropriate meal break, the employer must pay the worker for an additional hour of work at the employee's hourly rate. If an employer refuses to pay an employee covered under the Industrial Welfare Commission Wage Orders the additional hour's wage, the employee may file a wage claim with the California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement. An employee working in San Diego should file a claim with a branch office of the division located in the city.
  
  

Leaving Work Early

• An employee may not refuse her 30-minute meal period or accumulated rest periods to allow her to leave work early. If she waives the right to a rest period or meal break, her employer is free to retain her services for her entire shift and does not legally have to pay an additional hour's wage under California law. The law also does not allow an employee to arrive late to work by subtracting rest periods or a meal break from her schedule.