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California Meal & Rest Break Penalty Calculator
Every workday your employer fails to provide a required meal or rest break, California law owes you one extra hour of pay. Skipped lunches add up faster than most workers expect. Estimate yours below.
Reviewed by Justin Silverman, California employment attorney (State Bar #292036). Current for 2026.
You may be owed premium pay of
$3,128.40
That is one extra hour at your regular rate ($20.00) for each missed meal day and each missed rest day, roughly $60.00 a week, over 12 months.
A day can carry one meal premium and one rest premium, but only one of each. The premium is owed when a compliant break was not provided; a break you freely chose to skip does not count. This is an estimate, not legal advice.
How missed break pay works
Labor Code section 226.7 owes you one additional hour of pay, at your regular rate, for each workday a required meal or rest period was not provided. Workers search for this as the meal penalty, but the California Supreme Court held in Murphy v. Kenneth Cole that it is a premium wage, which is why the deadline to claim it is 3 years rather than 1. The rate matters too. Under Ferra v. Loews, the premium hour is paid at your regular rate of compensation, including nondiscretionary bonuses and commissions, not just base pay.
Because a break policy applies to everyone on the schedule, missed breaks are also the most common claim California workers bring together as a class. And if your employer appears in our wage theft tracker, note that federal wage cases never include break premiums, because federal law does not require breaks at all. Our wage and hour practice covers the full picture.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the California meal penalty?
When your employer does not provide a required meal or rest break, Labor Code section 226.7 owes you one additional hour of pay at your regular rate for that workday. Workers call it the meal penalty, but the California Supreme Court has held it is a premium wage, which matters because wages get a longer deadline than penalties.
When am I entitled to a meal break?
A 30-minute, off-duty, uninterrupted meal period must begin before the end of your fifth hour of work, and a second one before the end of your tenth hour on longer shifts. Your employer must relieve you of all duty for the full period. A lunch you worked through, ate at your desk on duty, or started late can all count as violations.
When am I entitled to rest breaks?
A paid 10-minute rest break for every 4 hours worked or major fraction of it. On a standard 8-hour shift that means two rest breaks. Rest breaks are on the clock, so an employer cannot dock pay for them or pressure you to skip them.
Can I get both a meal premium and a rest premium for the same day?
Yes. The statute owes one additional hour for each workday a meal period was not provided, and one for each workday a rest period was not provided. A single day can carry one of each, but not more than one per type no matter how many breaks of that type were missed that day.
Does the extra hour use my base pay rate?
No, and this is where estimates come out low. The California Supreme Court held in 2021 that the premium is paid at your regular rate of compensation, which includes nondiscretionary bonuses, commissions, and incentive pay, not just your base hourly rate. If you earn commissions or regular bonuses, your premium rate is higher than your base rate.
How far back can I claim missed break pay?
Generally 3 years, because the premium is a wage. A related unfair competition claim can sometimes reach back a fourth year as restitution. Missed breaks also tend to travel with other violations, like unpaid overtime and inaccurate pay stubs, which carry their own remedies.
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Worked through lunches for months or years? Those extra hours are wages you can still claim. A consultation with our office is free.
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This page and calculator are general information, not legal advice, and do not create an attorney-client relationship.