# Unpaid Meal Breaks | Meal Break Class Action Attorneys > MEAL BREAK LAWYER SUE FOR UNPAID MEAL BREAKS Non-exempt employees who work more than five hours in a day are entitled to a thirty minute uninterrupted meal Source: https://joblawyer.net/meal-break-lawyer/ Firm: Employment Lawyers Group — employee-side employment lawyers since 1993. Serving Los Angeles County, California. Phone: (818) 783-7300 (calling is the fastest way to reach the legal team) Office: 13418 Ventura Blvd, Sherman Oaks, CA 91423 Contact form: https://joblawyer.net/contact/ Consultations are free and confidential; cases are taken on contingency. --- SUE FOR UNPAID MEAL BREAKS Non-exempt employees who work more than five hours in a day are entitled to a thirty minute uninterrupted meal break, California Labor Code Section 512. Meals breaks can only be waived by mutual consent if the employee works less than six hours in a day, Id. Employers only have to make meal breaks available to employees. The law does not require employers to police the workplace to make sure full thirty minute meal breaks, or meal breaks of any length, are taken. Employers must only present reasonable opportunities for employees to take meal breaks, Brinker v. Sup. Crt., 53 Cal.4th 1004, 1040 (2012). Employers may not make it difficult for an employee to take a meal break or undermine a formal policy of providing meal breaks, Varsam v. Laboratory Corp., WL4624111 (S.D. Ca. 2015). Employers may not undermine formal policies of providing meal breaks by pressuring employees to perform their duties in ways that omit breaks, Boyd v. B of A, 2650207 WL (2015); cited favorably in Alberts v. Aurora, 241 Cal.App.4th 388, 406 (2015). Employers may not avoid liability for premium wages if it undermines a formal policy of providing meal breaks by pressuring employees to perform their duties in ways that omit breaks, and the employer cannot supplant a formal policy of providing meal or rest breaks by imposing conflicting policies [i.e. don’t lock door, you cannot turn patients away, you must spin blood as required by procedure, make it difficult for overtime to be granted] that impede or discourage an employee from taking compliant breaks, Novoa v. Charter, WL1879631 (E.D. Ca. 2015). ## ATTORNEYS FOR MEAL BREAK VIOLATIONS If the employee cannot leave during the meal period it counts as time worked, Brinker v. Sup. Crt., 53 Cal.4th 1004, 1036 (2012). One person in a store so it appears unfeasible to believe they could take meal or rest breaks has been deemed a basis for certification of a meal break class action, Bufil v. Dollar, 162 Cal.App.4th 1193, 1206 (2008). Bufil stated that there was not any evidence indicating how individual managers defied company policy, or otherwise invented a way for employees working alone, or with a trainee, to take a rest break when they were not authorized to lock the store, ignore customers, quit monitoring traffic, or do what they had to do, Id. Moreover, Bufil found arguments about employees being able to read during business lulls and take smoke breaks throughout the day not to be compelling as a reason for denying certification, Id. at 1205. Cicairos v. Summit, 133 Cal.App.4th 949, 962 (2007) was cited by Brinker Rest. Corp. v. Superior Court, 53 Cal. 4th 1004, 1040 (2012) for the proposition employers cannot be pressured not to take breaks or have informal anti-meal break policies enforced through ridicule or coercion, also see Cicairos citing to California Code of Regulations Title 8 Section 11090(7)(A), (7)c. ## MEAL BREAK CLASS ACTION LAWYERS An employer’s staffing decisions do not mean the nature of the work requires on-duty meal breaks. Alberts v. Aurora, 241 Cal.App.4th 388 (2015) is a case that dealt with nurses, requirements nurses not abandon posts, requirements paperwork had to be completed during the nurses’ shifts, an employer who discouraged overtime, strict policies of clocking out regardless of whether the lunch break was taken, and upper management placed pressure on lower management not to offer overtime, Id. at 415-416. Given the paltry staffing of nurses the court found it interesting there was not a record of any of them being paid for a missed meal break. When an employer violates the duty to provide an off duty meal break the employee is immediately entitled to premium wages as compensation without any demand or claim to the employer, Safeway v. Superior Court, 190 Cal.Rptr.3d 131 (Supreme Court 2015). California Labor Code Section 226.7 claims for missed meal breaks are subject to a three year statute under California Labor Code Section 226.7, Murphy v. Kenneth Cole, 40 Cal.4th 1094 (2007), and four years under California Business and Professions Code Section 17200, Wang v. Chinese, 435 F.Supp.2d 1042 (C.D. Ca. 2006). ## RECENT WON MEAL BREAK LAWSUITS We have achieved the following case results for employees who were prevented from taking meal breaks: $800,000 class action settlement for several hundred who took on-duty meal breaks $400,000 for missed meal breaks, off-the-clock work, overtime $174,250 for a group of several employees denied meal breaks Call (818) 783-7300 for an experienced meal break lawyer ## Our Firm: No Upfront Fees or Costs ### Contingency Fee Representation All employment cases for employees are taken on a **contingency basis**. We are only paid a fee **when and if we win** your case, and we **advance all litigation costs**. Our goal is to make expert legal representation accessible to every hardworking employee. ### Serving Los Angeles County We have proudly served all of Los Angeles County since 1993. Ready to discuss your case? (818) 783-7300 Submit A Contact Form The Employment Lawyers Group has successfully handled 2,000+ Separate California Employment Cases ## Media Engagements ## Sample Case Results breach of commission contract $1,150,000 Unpaid commissions of two plaintiffs unpaid wages $875,000 For 4 oil field service industry workers whose times worked were not recorded on timesheets and were on-call forced to work without pay standby pay case $800,000 Controlled stand by class action settlement Disclaimer: These results are based on the facts of these specific cases and do not guarantee or predict a similar result in any future case. ## Practice Areas [Discrimination Age, Disability, FMLA/CFRA, Gender, National Origin, Pregnancy, Race, and Sexual Orientation discrimination claims.](https://joblawyer.net/discrimination/) [Unpaid Wages & Overtime Recovering earnings for overtime, bonuses, commissions, meal & rest break violations, and prevailing wage claims.](https://joblawyer.net/unpaid-wages/) [Sexual Harassment Compassionate and effective representation for sexual harassment and hostile work environment claims.](https://joblawyer.net/sexual-harassment/) [Wrongful Termination Representing employees terminated in violation of public policy, contracts, or California and federal law.](https://joblawyer.net/wrongful-termination/) [Leaves & Retaliation Protecting employees who face adverse actions after reporting illegal activity or taking protected medical leave.](https://joblawyer.net/leaves-of-absence/) [Whistleblowers Advocating for employees who report fraud, waste, or abuse under California and federal whistleblower protection laws.](https://worklawyerca.com/los-angeles-whistle-blower-lawyer/) ## Our California Locations ### Bakersfield [BakersfieldLaborAttorney.com](https://bakersfieldlaborattorney.com) 5401 Business Park S, #214, Bakersfield CA 93309 [(661) 412-9600](tel:6614129600) ### Los Angeles [EmployeeLawCA.com](https://employeelawca.com/) 611 Wilshire Blvd, #1023, Los Angeles CA 90017 [(323) 525-1600](tel:3235251600) ### Orange County [WorkLawyerOC.com](https://worklawyeroc.com) 2522 Chambers Rd, #100, Tustin CA 92780 [(714) 210-8000](tel:7142108000) ### Riverside [RiversideEmploymentLawyer.com](https://riversideemploymentlawyer.com) 9496 Magnolia Ave, #208, Riverside CA 92503 [(951) 367-1000](tel:9513671000) ### Sacramento [SacramentoLaborAttorney.com](https://sacramentolaborattorney.com) 777 Campus Commons Rd, #200, Sacramento CA 95825 [(916) 340-0000](tel:9163400000) ### San Bernardino [EmploymentAttorneySanBernardino.com](https://employmentattorneysanbernardino.com) 337 N. 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He has represented a wide range of employees throughout California. Mr. Gerber has won **51 of the binding arbitrations and jury trials** he first chaired, and a number of his appeals are published. This deep trial experience is the foundation of the firm's strategic approach to litigation. The employment attorneys employed by the Employment Lawyers Group have worked at the firm well in excess of five years, have also tried many different labor cases, and have all been **extensively trained on employment and wrongful termination law by Karl Gerber**. [Meet Karl Gerber](https://joblawyer.net/karl-gerber/) ## Ready to Discuss Your Case? Your rights as an employee matter. Submit a contact form and we'll get back to you. Submit A Contact Form [Call (818) 783-7300 Now](tel:8187837300)