CA employer denying meal breaks - how to calculate premium pay owed?

I work at a warehouse in Los Angeles. Regular shift is 9 hours (8am-5pm). Management routinely denies meal breaks or tells us to "eat while you work" because we're short-staffed.

This has been going on for 8 months. I'd estimate I missed meal breaks about 3-4 days per week during that time.

I know California has strict meal break laws. What am I owed? How do I calculate it? And what's this PAGA thing I keep seeing mentioned?

As someone who works in HR (at a compliant company), this is a nightmare scenario for your employer.

They're likely also violating:

• Rest break requirements (10 min per 4 hours)
• Wage statement requirements (must show meal break premium if owed)
• Potentially overtime if those 9-hour shifts aren't paying OT for hour 9

Each violation compounds. This company is setting themselves up for a massive PAGA settlement.

@Rosa_P_2 - Absolutely not legit. The meal break requirement is based on ACTUAL hours worked, not scheduled hours.

If you work more than 5 hours, you're entitled to a meal break. Period. It doesn't matter what you were "scheduled" for.

This is actually a common tactic - schedule people for 5.5 hours, make them stay longer, then claim no break was required. Courts see right through this.

Check your time records. Every shift over 5 hours where you didn't get a meal break = 1 hour premium pay owed.

UPDATE: 65 days passed, LWDA didn't respond (as expected), lawsuit filed in LA Superior Court yesterday!

My attorney says the company's lawyers already reached out to discuss "early resolution." They're definitely scared. She said first offers in these cases are usually lowball but it's a good sign they want to talk.

Will keep this thread updated as things progress.

@Patrick_L - Great question. This is a hot topic right now.

For DLSE claims, arbitration agreements generally don't apply. You can always file a wage claim with the Labor Commissioner regardless of any arbitration agreement.

For PAGA, it's more nuanced. After the Viking River Cruises decision and subsequent California cases, individual PAGA claims might be subject to arbitration, but the "representative" portion (on behalf of other employees) typically stays in court.

However, recent CA Supreme Court decisions have been more protective of PAGA claims. This area of law is actively evolving.

Bottom line: Don't assume an arbitration agreement bars all your options. Consult with an attorney who can review your specific agreement.

Won a PAGA claim for meal break violations last year and wanted to share the details since this thread has been so helpful. Our employer (a large warehouse operation in the Inland Empire) had a policy of automatically deducting 30-minute meal breaks from employee timecards whether or not the break was actually taken. Classic auto-deduction violation.

Under California Labor Code Section 512(a), employers must provide a 30-minute meal period for shifts over 5 hours and a second meal period for shifts over 10 hours. The key word is provide -- the employer must relieve the employee of all duties and relinquish control. If the employee is required to remain on premises, carry a radio, or be available for calls, that is not a compliant meal break under Brinker Restaurant Corp. v. Superior Court (2012).

Our case settled for 2.1 million dollars for approximately 150 current and former employees. After attorney fees (33%) and PAGA allocation, each employee received between 3,000 and 12,000 dollars depending on their tenure. Not life-changing money individually, but the settlement forced the employer to change their timekeeping system and meal break policies going forward.