What does a missed meal break cost an employer in California?
One additional hour of pay at the employee's regular rate of compensation, for each workday a compliant meal break was not provided. A second hour is owed for rest-break violations, so one day can carry two premiums. The premium is a wage, not a penalty, which affects how and when it must be paid.
Employees working more than 5 hours are entitled to a 30-minute unpaid, uninterrupted meal break, free of duty. A break that is shortened, interrupted, or taken late can trigger the premium just as a missed one does.
In Ferra v. Loews Hollywood Hotel (2021) the California Supreme Court held that the premium is calculated at the "regular rate of compensation" — the same rate used for overtime, which includes non-discretionary bonuses and similar payments — not the lower base hourly rate.
In Naranjo v. Spectrum Security Services (2022) the court held these premiums are wages, which means they must appear on wage statements and be included in final pay, exposing employers to further penalties when they are not.
Sources
Last reviewed 2026-08-07. Informational only — not legal advice. California rules change; confirm against the current source before acting.
Related questions
WeERM computes these rules as your team clocks in — daily overtime, double-time, the seventh-day premium, and meal-break flags, applied before payday rather than reconstructed after it.
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