California Labor Code § 226.7 Meal & Rest Break Premiums and PAGA Representative Lawsuits

### 1. California Meal Period Mandates (*Brinker Restaurant Corp. v. Superior Court*) Under **California Labor Code § 512** and Industrial Welfare Commission (IWC) Wage Orders: * **First Meal Break**: Non-exempt employees working more than 5 hours must be provided an uninterrupted, duty-free 30-minute meal break starting **no later than the end of the 5th hour** of work. * **Duty-Free Requirement (*Augustus v. ABM Security Services*)**: The California Supreme Court held that employees must be relieved of *all duty* and employer control. Requiring you to carry an active radio or remain on-call invalidates the break as a matter of law. ### 2. Statutory Premium Pay under Labor Code § 226.7 For every workday an employer fails to provide a lawful meal or rest break, the employer must pay the employee **one additional hour of pay at the employee's regular rate of compensation** (*Naranjo v. Spectrum Security Services* 2022). * 1 missed meal break = 1 hour premium pay. * 1 missed/interrupted rest break = 1 hour premium pay (max 2 premium hours per day). ### 3. PAGA Representative Actions (Labor Code § 2698 et seq.) If the employer systematically violates break laws across the warehouse facility: * An aggrieved employee can file an administrative notice with the Labor & Workforce Development Agency (LWDA) under the **Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA)**. * PAGA empowers employees to act as private attorneys general to recover civil penalties for all affected co-workers across the 1-year statute of limitations, with 65% going to the state and 35% distributed to aggrieved workers plus mandatory attorney fees.