Fact Check: Do You Have to Give Employees Breaks?

FLSA imposes no break requirement. DOL's state meal-break table confirms state law can add meal-break requirements, and California Labor Code §512 / §226.7 creates strict timing and premium-pay consequences.

The Fair Labor Standards Act does not mandate meal or rest breaks. The DOL's hours-worked fact sheet confirms.

29 CFR §785.18 — rest periods of short duration (5–20 minutes) are counted as hours worked. 29 CFR §785.19 — bona fide meal periods (30+ minutes) are not hours worked, but only if the employee is completely relieved from duty.

California Labor Code §226.7 requires premium pay of one additional hour at the regular rate for each workday a required meal or rest period is not provided. §512 sets the 5th-hour first-meal and 10th-hour second-meal timing requirements.

California Labor Code §512(a) — first 30-minute meal period must begin before the end of the fifth hour of work; second meal period must begin before the end of the tenth hour.

DOL's state meal/rest references confirm that several states require meal breaks and fewer require paid rest breaks.

Naranjo v. Spectrum Security Services (2022) held that §226.7 premium pay is wages for wage-statement and final-pay purposes. Ferra v. Loews Hollywood Hotel (2021) held that the §226.7 premium uses the regular-rate calculation, so the overtime interaction depends on the employee's compensation structure and workweek.

Donohue v. AMN Services, LLC, 11 Cal. 5th 58 (2021), held that time records showing missing, short, or late meal periods create a rebuttable presumption of a meal-break violation, flipping the summary-judgment burden to the employer.

Synthesis from the article's through-line — California-baseline policy: §512 timing (5th-hour first meal, 10th-hour second meal), 10-minute paid rest per 4 hours from IWC Wage Orders, §226.7 premium pay for missed breaks, recording-keeping that defeats Donohue's rebuttable presumption.