Meal period premium pay in California refers to an additional hour of compensation provided to employees who miss their 30-minute lunch break, but certain conditions must be met for this pay to apply.
Firstly, the employee's shift must exceed 5 hours. If the employer fails to relieve the employee of all duties for at least 30 minutes before the end of the 6th hour, or provide a second 30-minute break before the end of the 12th hour, then the premium pay is applicable.
Additionally, if the employer insists that the employee remains on-site during the break, even if the full break is provided, the employee is entitled to the meal period premium pay.
The amount of the premium pay is equivalent to one hour of the employee's regular rate. This pay compensates for any or all meal breaks that were prevented by the employer during a workday.
It is important to note that meal period premiums are considered wages, not penalties, as determined by the California Supreme Court.
Only one meal period premium pay is granted per day, regardless of whether the employer prevented two meal breaks within a 10-hour period. However, an employee may receive an additional premium for any required 10-minute rest breaks that were prevented by the employer during the day.
In cases where an employee voluntarily chooses to work through their lunch break, and the employer has relieved the employee of all duties and allowed the break, the premium pay does not apply. However, if the employer is aware that the employee worked through lunch, they are obligated to compensate the employee for every minute worked.
The additional hour of pay for meal period premiums does not count towards overtime calculations. It is not considered as an hour of work for overtime purposes.
When recording meal period premium pay on a timesheet, it is recommended to classify it as benefit hours rather than regular hours. This prevents the premium pay from being included in overtime calculations.
For more detailed information, please refer to the article on meal breaks provided by the
California Department of Industrial Relations.
