Can Employees Legally Waive Their Meal Breaks in California?
Emman Velos
Last update on:
July 2, 2025 11:23 AM
Published on:
Imagine one of your employees walks into your office at 10:00 am and says: “Hey boss, I’ll just skip lunch today so I can head out an hour early. Is that okay?”
The request sounds innocent enough. After all, your employee is the one who’s asking to give up their break, not you. In fact, they’ll probably be more productive at work since they want to leave sooner — a win-win.
If you were to grant your employee’s request, you’ve just walked straight into a legal minefield.
Without documentation to prove your employee voluntarily waived their meal break, you’re still on the hook.
In this guide, we’ll break down what the law says about employees waiving their meal breaks and how you can use tools like Timeero to keep your business protected.
California break laws are among the most heavily regulated in the United States. Between California’s Labor Code, Wage Orders, and a long history of court rulings, employers are held to strict standards when it comes to scheduling and enforcing employee breaks.
Here’s what California break law says:
If an employee’s shift extends beyond 5 hours in a day, they must receive a 30-minute, unpaid, uninterrupted meal break.
For shifts over 10 hours, employees must be given a second 30-minute meal break.
Every employee must be given a paid 10-minute rest break for roughly every four hours they work.
The burden of complying with California’s break laws doesn’t fall on your employees. Instead, it rests squarely on your shoulders as the employer.
Simply offering breaks isn't enough. Rather, you’re legally obligated to make sure they happen.
Failure to provide your employees with their breaks means you owe them one hour of premium pay for each violation. Top that off with potential lawsuits, audits, and PAGA claims and you're out a hefty chunk of change.
Can California breaks be waived?
Not all breaks are treated equally under California law. The rules for meal breaks aren’t the same as the rules for rest breaks.
As the employer, you are fully responsible for making sure meal and rest breaks are handled correctly.
Understanding which breaks can be waived and those that are required by California law is the most important way you can maintain legal compliance and avoid potential lawsuits.
Waiving meal breaks in California: Waiver rules & guidelines
If an employee works more than five hours in a day, California law requires them to take a 30-minute unpaid meal break that’s completely off the clock and free of all work responsibilities. This break must begin before the fifth hour of their shift.
However, meal breaks can be waived under certain conditions:
1. Waiving the first meal break (shifts of 6 hours or less)
If an employee’s total workday is 6 hours or less, they may voluntarily waive their meal break. However, a verbal agreement between you and your employee is not enough. You will need to file a waiver document to protect both parties that proves a mutual agreement existed between you and your employee.
If a shift goes over 6 hours, any waiver is now null and void. The employee must take the meal break no matter what was previously agreed upon.
2. Waiving the second meal break (shifts of 10-12 hours)
Employees who work more than 10 hours in a single shift, but no more than 12, are entitled to a second 30-minute meal break under California law. An employee’s second meal break may be waived if:
Their first meal break was not waived
Both employer and employee mutually agree to waive the second break
The waiver is voluntary and properly documented
Rest breaks in California: Waiver rules & guidelines
Unlike meal breaks, rest breaks are mandatory and can not be waived.
Rest breaks are treated as a guaranteed part of the workday, so it’s the employer’s job to make sure all employees are given rest breaks.
Employees working 4 hours, or a major fraction thereof, are entitled to a paid 10-minute rest break.
For employees working an 8-hour shift, they are entitled to two paid rest breaks that can be spaced throughout the work day.
Employer obligations for rest breaks
As the employer, your responsibility doesn’t end at merely offering rest breaks to employees.
You are required to:
Authorize and permit rest breaks for all eligible employees
Fully relieve employees of all duties during the break
Ensure rest breaks are paid as part of regular work time
Avoid any pressure or indirect discouragement that makes employees feel they shouldn’t take breaks
Allow some flexibility on scheduling when necessary. However, deviations must be based on legitimate operational needs and not convenience
Note: While California law gives some flexibility on when rest breaks can occur during the shift (especially in unusual industries), employers should aim to schedule rest breaks near the middle of each 4-hour work period when possible.
Why skipping breaks in California is a problem
Meal and rest break violations trigger expensive lawsuits and financial penalties. In instances where violations are extreme, they can also trigger government investigations.
Break compliance shouldn’t be taken lightly, especially in California where the repercussions can make or break your business.
Besides lawsuits and fines, there are several additional reasons why you should never allow employees to skip their breaks.
Missed breaks mean lost wages
Failing to provide a required meal or rest break comes with a price. State law says that if a meal or rest break is missed, employers must pay the employee an extra hour of wages for that day.
This is known as premium pay (or break premiums). It applies to both meal and rest breaks separately, which means that missing both breaks in one workday creates two separate labor code break penalties, potentially doubling your liability for that single day.
Aside from these premiums, missed breaks can trigger additional wage liabilities, including:
Waiting time penalties: Up to 30 days of wages owed if the employee’s break premiums are not paid at termination.
California’s 4-hour minimum pay rule: This rule ensures that employees are compensated for a minimum number of hours when scheduled shifts are unexpectedly shortened or canceled.
Interest: Courts may apply interest on all unpaid amounts, compounding the total owed.
Retroactive claims: Employees may seek recovery for break violations going back 3 years (or up to 4 years for certain claims).
Missed breaks can lead to lawsuits
Break-related violations are one of the leading reasons California employers find themselves in court. In 2024 alone, over 4,500 wage and hour lawsuits were filed, often rooted in something as simple as a missed lunch.
When an employee files a lawsuit over missed breaks, the financial exposure goes far beyond just paying back owed wages.
You could also be paying for:
Unpaid wages and penalties: You’ll owe break premiums for every violation, going back several years.
Attorney’s fees: If the employee wins, you’ll be required to cover their legal fees, as well as your own defense costs.
Class actions: A single employee’s claims can quickly escalate into a class action lawsuit involving multiple employees, which dramatically increases your financial exposure.
PAGA lawsuits increase your liability exponentially
Break violations typically trigger Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) claims because they represent a low-hanging fruit for attorneys to build labor cases around. If time and break records are incomplete, inconsistent, or missing entirely, it provides a straightforward foundation for attorneys to argue that breaks weren’t properly provided.
Even if employees skipped breaks voluntarily, plaintiff attorneys may assert that the employer created a broader pattern of noncompliance or fostered a workplace culture that failed to enforce break laws consistently.
Once those patterns are uncovered, PAGA allows employees to reach back across years of payroll data, multiplying these labor code break penalties across your entire workforce:
$100 per employee, per pay period for initial violations
$200 per employee, per pay period for each subsequent violation
Given these figures, a handful of mistakes can easily add up to six- or seven-figure fines.
For instance, if you have 20 employees and you failed to provide legally compliant breaks over the course of 50 pay periods, you could face over $200,000 in PAGA penalties alone.
The burden of proof lies with the employer
One of the most dangerous misconceptions employers have is believing that it's the employee's or the government’s job to prove that workers didn’t take their breaks. But California law says that the responsibility falls entirely on the employer.
Employers must provide affirmative, reliable evidence that every employee was provided with their legally required break. Documentation should also show that employees were fully relieved of all duties, breaks were taken on time, and managers did not discourage or prevent employees from taking their breaks.
Without clear and consistent records, courts can assume noncompliance by default. Verbal agreements, informal practices, or an employee’s voluntary choice carry little weight in a court of law.
In California, the rule is simple: if you can’t prove it, it didn’t happen. Thus, the only true defense is a system that captures when breaks happened, how long they lasted, and whether they were properly offered and taken.
How to protect your business
When it comes to compliance, simply setting out with “good intentions” isn’t enough.
You need strong company policies in place, coupled with break tracking technology like Timeero that will hold your employees accountable for taking their required breaks, every time.
To protect your business against legal ramifications, there are several steps that you can take to avoid legal pitfalls that many California employers find themselves landing in.
1. Make sure everyone knows the rules
The first line of defense against break violations is simple– educate your workforce and communicate clearly with your teams. It’s easier to comply with break rules when everyone in your entire organization, from managers to employees, understands your policies.
Your policy should include information about:
When meal and rest breaks are required
When employees are allowed and not allowed to waive break periods
How meal break waivers work
What the law requires when they are on break
Clear expectations make it easier for employees to take their breaks without hesitation or second-guessing.
2. Use tools like Timeero to ensure compliance
To achieve California break law compliance, many California employers use platforms like Timeero to help capture that data accurately to reduce the risk of disputes down the line.
Timeero’s California Breaks Tracker was specifically designed to simplify break compliance and eliminate the headaches that come with managing California’s complex labor laws. With features like automated break reminders and real-time alerts, Timeero gives you the control and documentation you need to stay protected.
Here’s a closer look at how Timeero protects your business.
Track breaks when they happen
Timeero’s is a cloud-based mobile app that allows employees to log the exact start and end times of every meal and rest break directly from their phones, whether they’re on-site, remote, or out in the field.
Employees select “Start Break” when they are ready to begin their legally-mandated break.
Each break is recorded in real-time with a digital time stamp, so there’s no need to rely on handwritten logs or manual inputs. And because California law prohibits rounding meal break times, Timeero captures the exact time, down to the minute.
You can prevent employees from ending their breaks early so you remain compliant.
Automated break reminders
One of the biggest reasons employers get hit with break violations is simple forgetfulness. A majority of these are harmless cases of employees unintentionally working through required break windows.
Unfortunately, “I simply forgot, I’m sorry” does not hold up in court. Timeero solves this by automatically sending break reminders directly to employees’ mobile devices, ensuring they take required breaks on time.
You can choose when to send reminders for meal and rest breaks in your company’s settings.
Timeero allows you to customize your company’s break notification settings so you can schedule alerts according to your team's schedule.
In addition to daily reminders, Timeero allows you to track employees’ breaks in real-time so you can address issues as they happen, not weeks later during payroll reviews.
Daily sign-off and break attestation
Before clocking out, employees are automatically prompted by Timeero to complete a Daily Sign-Off Form that walks them through a simple but legally significant checklist.
When the California Break Policy setting is turned on, employees will be prompted to fill out and submit an attestation form before clocking out.
Timeero’s Break Attestation form typically asks employees to confirm:
That they were provided with all legally required meal breaks
That they were provided with all legally required rest breaks
Their break was taken in full, on time, and without interruption
If any breaks were missed, shortened, or delayed
Timeero’s Break Attestation form contains the expected vs actual time taken during breaks for full transparency.
Timeero’s California Break Attestation form gives you an additional layer of protection that can be used as defense during an audit or legal hearing. Requiring your employees to give detailed explanations as to why they did not take their breaks shows that your team took reasonable steps to remain compliant.
Digital signatures for extra protection
Timeero’s digital signature feature adds an extra layer of legal protection by capturing employee-verified confirmations for every shift. After completing their time and break records, employees digitally sign directly from their mobile devices, creating a timestamped record that’s fully authenticated.
Capturing employees’ signatures satisfies the legal component of California break law. When your employees electronically sign their timecards, they attest that not only are their work hours correct, but that they have taken their breaks as required by California law.
Employees can attach signatures directly on their time cards.
Each digitally signed timecard creates a paper trail that can help you in the event of a wage claim, PAGA lawsuit, or audit.
Accurate, audit-ready reporting
Most California employers lose wage and hour cases, not because they intentionally violated the law, but because they can’t produce reliable, verifiable records when challenged.
With just a few clicks, Timeero allows you to generate detailed reports that show:
The exact start and end times of every meal and rest break
Which employees took their breaks as scheduled, and who missed or shortened theirs
Employees’ explanations for missed or delayed breaks
Employees’ digital signatures attached to each timesheet
Break reports display the exact start and end times for each meal and rest break, break durations.
You can filter reports by team, timeframe, or individual employee, so if questions come up, you’re not scrambling to pull data. Whether you’re prepping for an internal review or facing a labor board inquiry, you’ll have the full picture ready to go.
Stay compliant and reduce legal risk with Timeero
Allowing your employees to simply skip their breaks so they can clock out early isn’t worth the risk. The last thing you want to encounter are hefty legal fines and penalty payments that could have been avoided.
By creating a company wide break policy, following California break laws, and implementing break tracking technology, you can take the guesswork out of break compliance.
FAQs: Waiving Meal & Rest Breaks
Q: Can meal break waivers be signed in advance?
A: Yes. This is called a prospective meal break waiver. Employees can sign a form stating that any time they are scheduled less than 6 hours, they are okay with waiving their meal break. This waiver must be signed voluntarily, and employees must be given the right to revoke it at any time.
Q: Can employees leave early instead of taking their rest breaks?
A: No. According to California’s rest break laws, employees can not trade or waive rest breaks to shorten their work day, even at their request.
Emman is a passionate writer with more than 6 years of digital marketing experience under his belt. As a licensed chemical engineer with a passion for writing, he marries the technical with the creative to create engaging copy that converts. He is also a certified #girldad who spends most of his day playing with his three girls when he's not busy writing.
%202.svg)
