Employers are required by California law to provide an unpaid thirty minute meal period to its employees during the first five hours of each work day, unless the employee works no more than six hours that day and the employee has SIGNED a voluntary written waiver of the meal period. All hourly employees who work more than ten hours on a given day are entitled to a second unpaid thirty minute meal period unless they have signed a voluntary written waiver of the second meal period. Failure by an employer to provide these meal periods entitles the employee to extra pay and may subject the employer to certain penalties.
Similarly, hourly employees are entitled to take a paid rest period of ten (10) minutes for each four hours worked or major fraction thereof. Failure by an employer to provide these rest periods entitles the employee to extra pay and may subject the employer to certain penalties.
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