Everything your team needs to navigate labor law compliance — break requirements, wage rules, GPS tracking laws, and more — all in one place.
The guides your peers read most — California labor law, GPS tracking laws, and state break law fundamentals.
Quickly calculate break penalties, overtime costs, and other compliance exposures — before they become violations.
Document policies, train employees, and prepare for audits — ready to download and customize for your team.
Federal law doesn't require meal or rest breaks, but many states do. Rules vary significantly by industry and employee classification. Non-compliance can mean premium pay, class action lawsuits, and significant PAGA exposure. Know the rules where you operate.
California's break laws carry the highest risk in the U.S. — mandatory meal periods, paid rest breaks, detailed recordkeeping expectations, and PAGA exposure. If a compliant meal or rest break is not provided, the employer owes one additional hour of pay at the employee's regular rate under California Labor Code § 226.7.
| Break Type | When Required | Duration | Paid? | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First Meal Period | Shifts over 5 hours | 30 min (minimum) | Unpaid | Employee must be fully relieved of duties. Can be waived by mutual consent if shift ≤ 6 hours. |
| Second Meal Period | Shifts over 10 hours | 30 min (minimum) | Unpaid | Can be waived by mutual consent if shift ≤ 12 hours and first meal period was not waived. |
| Rest Break | Every 4 hours worked (or major fraction thereof) | 10 min (net) | Paid | Employers must authorize and permit rest breaks. Employees may voluntarily choose not to take them. |
| Recovery Period | Outdoor workers in heat conditions | As needed (min. 5 min) | Paid | Required under California heat illness prevention regulations (8 CCR § 3395). |
The rules of each state where work is performed generally apply, not your headquarters state. Multi-state and remote-work scenarios can be complex, so you should always confirm edge cases with employment counsel.
Need another state? View the complete break law guide for all 50 states.
All state break laws →The FLSA sets the federal floor for overtime and recordkeeping — states often go further. Wage and hour violations are one of the most common sources of employment lawsuits in the U.S.
Under 29 U.S.C. § 211(c), employers must maintain accurate records of hours worked for all non-exempt employees — at least 3 years for payroll records. Public works contractors face an additional layer: the Davis-Bacon Act and California Labor Code §§ 1771 and 1776 require certified payroll records proving correct wage rates were paid, with DIR reporting obligations in California. Serious violations can result in debarment.
FLSA compliance guideFLSA requires specific payroll and time records for non-exempt employees. For meal period disputes in California, time records showing missed, short, or late meal periods can create a rebuttable presumption that the meal period was not provided, shifting the burden to the employer to rebut (Donohue v. AMN Services). Missing records more broadly can significantly weaken an employer's defense.
You can follow every break law perfectly, but if you can't prove it, you've still lost.
IRS accountable plan rules, state reimbursement mandates (California, Illinois, Massachusetts), and GPS mileage log requirements have their own compliance layer. Everything your team needs is in the Mileage Reimbursement Hub.
Explore the Mileage Reimbursement HubTracking employees during work hours via a company-approved app on their mobile device is generally permissible. Legality depends on how tracking is implemented — employee consent and prior notice given, if tracking is limited to work hours, and whether it extends to personal devices. Requirements vary by state and are expanding.
Workers who have experienced disputes actively prefer GPS-enabled employers — because it protects them too. GPS records give workers the same verifiable data employers rely on.
Read the 2026 GPS & Employee Trust Survey →State-Specific GPS Tracking Laws
Federal law requires EVV for covered Medicaid in-home services, verifying six data elements, including location, caregiver identity, and start/end times.
DCAA guidance emphasizes daily time entry, documented changes, and supervisor approvals. Timekeeping failures can lead to audit findings, questioned or disallowed costs, and withheld payments — and in serious cases involving misconduct, referral for contracting remedies, including suspension or debarment.
Built to generate documentation that holds up the moment an auditor asks for it.
Timeero surveyed 1,000 U.S. field workers, gathering insights on their feelings toward GPS tracking and its role in workplace disputes. The findings show transparent GPS implementation builds trust rather than eroding it.
Read the full 2026 GPS & Employee Trust Survey →The questions operations managers and HR leads actually ask — answered directly.
The break laws of the state where work is performed generally apply — not where you're headquartered. California: 30-min unpaid meal for shifts over 5 hours, 10-min paid rest for every 4 hours. Colorado, Washington, Oregon, and Illinois each have their own thresholds. Track which state each employee works in. Multi-state scenarios can be complex; confirm edge cases with employment counsel.
Under 29 U.S.C. § 211(c) and 29 CFR Part 516, employers must maintain records of hours worked for all non-exempt employees. Keep payroll records at least 3 years, supplementary records (time cards) generally 2 years. Records must be accurate and retrievable on demand.
Timeero's GPS records capture the elements required for accountable plan substantiation — date, miles, destination, and business purpose, recorded at or near the time of travel. If employees don't adequately substantiate mileage, reimbursements may be treated as taxable wages.
EVV is federally required for covered Medicaid in-home services under the 21st Century Cures Act — verifying six data elements, including location, caregiver identity, and start/end time. All states were required to implement it by 2020 (personal care) and 2023 (home health). Capturing EVV requirements through GPS tracking is one compliant method, but not federally mandated. State systems and submission requirements vary.
For meal periods, time records showing missed, short, or late meal periods can create a rebuttable presumption that the meal period was not provided, shifting the burden to the employer to rebut (Donohue v. AMN Services). If a compliant break is not provided, the employer owes one additional hour of pay per workday (Labor Code § 226.7). Systemic violations may support a PAGA claim — generally $100 per aggrieved employee per pay period under § 2699(f), with $200 applying in defined circumstances.
California Penal Code § 637.7 prohibits electronic location tracking without consent (narrow vehicle-owner exception). Civil liability under § 637.2: $5,000 per violation or three times actual damages, whichever is greater. Other states are adding requirements. All employers should have a written GPS tracking policy that employees acknowledge before tracking begins.
The DOL requires: employee name, address, occupation, pay rate, total hours worked each day and week, overtime earnings, wage deductions, total wages paid, and payment dates. Retain for 3 years. The DOL also commonly requests break documentation in investigations, even though FLSA does not explicitly mandate it.
DCAA requires daily time entry — not weekly reconstructions. Every hour must be allocated to a specific contract or cost code. Supervisors must approve timesheets; corrections must be documented with the reason. Silent edits are an audit failure. Timekeeping failures can lead to audit findings, questioned costs, and withheld payments — and in serious cases, referral for contracting remedies, including suspension or debarment.
Both trigger one additional hour of premium pay. Meal breaks are 30 min, unpaid, given when employees work shifts over 5 hours. Rest breaks are 10 min, paid, given every 4 hours — cannot be waived. Both require employer-side documentation. Attestation strengthens an employer's position when meal period disputes arise.
PAGA allows an aggrieved employee — one who personally suffered the violation — to bring a representative action on behalf of similarly situated coworkers. The default civil penalty under Labor Code § 2699(f) is $100 per aggrieved employee per pay period. The $200 tier applies only in certain circumstances, including a prior PAGA finding within the past five years or conduct found to be malicious, fraudulent, or oppressive. Courts may also reduce penalties. Attorney fees are typically recoverable. 100 workers, 10 pay periods at $100: $100,000 before fees.
Timeero supports multi-state configuration — break thresholds and attestation can be set up by jurisdiction. Confirm specifics with the Timeero team.
Timeero exports the following records on demand: IRS mileage logs, EVV templates, DCAA timesheets, break compliance summaries — with GPS coordinates, timestamps, edit history, and attestation records included.
Timeero generates audit-ready records automatically — GPS-verified, tamper-evident, and ready to export the moment you need them.
.png)
.png)
Ask AI about Timeero
.png)
