Missed Meal & Rest Break Premium Pay Calculator (1 Hour Extra Pay per Day)
Calculate your statutory premium wages (up to 2 extra hours of pay per workday) for missed, late, interrupted, or short lunch and rest breaks.
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3. How the rule works
Who this is for
California non-exempt employees who regularly missed, cut short or took late meal or rest breaks and want to estimate the premium pay owed.
Most other states do not require adult breaks or premiums, so this calculator is California-specific.
What to have ready
- Timecards showing meal start and end times.
- Your hourly rate and any shift differentials, bonuses or commissions.
- Any meal-period waiver you signed.
- Notes or messages showing breaks were interrupted or denied.
The rule
California Labor Code § 512 requires a 30-minute unpaid, duty-free meal period before the end of the fifth hour for shifts over five hours (it can be waived by agreement if the shift is no more than six hours) and a second meal for shifts over ten hours. The Industrial Welfare Commission wage orders require a paid 10-minute rest break for every four hours worked or major fraction. Under § 226.7, if the employer fails to provide a compliant break, it owes one additional hour of pay at the regular rate of compensation for each workday: one hour for meal violations and one for rest violations, so at most two per day.
In Brinker Restaurant Corp. v. Superior Court (2012) the California Supreme Court held that employers must relieve workers of duty but do not have to ensure they take the break. In Donohue v. AMN Services (2021) it held that time records showing missed or late meals create a rebuttable presumption of a violation, and in Naranjo v. Spectrum Security Services (2022) that premium pay counts as wages for wage-statement and final-pay purposes.
Read the official text:
- California Labor Code § 512
- California Labor Code § 226.7
- California Labor Commissioner: meal and rest periods FAQ
Worked example: 80 days with both breaks missed
Diego earns $25 an hour. Over the past year, on 80 workdays he took a late lunch and was also denied his afternoon rest break.
Meal premium per day = 1 hour x $25 = $25 Rest premium per day = 1 hour x $25 = $25 Daily total = $50 (maximum two premiums a day) 80 days = $50 x 80 = $4,000 A late lunch alone on 40 more days = $25 x 40 = $1,000
Common mistakes
- Claiming more than two premiums a day. Several missed rest breaks in one day still produce one rest premium.
- Using the base hourly rate when you earn bonuses or commissions. The 'regular rate of compensation' includes them.
- Assuming a voluntary skipped lunch is a violation. If the break was genuinely offered and you chose to work, it may not be.
- Missing the limitation period. Premium claims are generally subject to a three-year limit; wage-statement penalties have a shorter one.
Limits of this tool
- Break rules vary by state and industry; some California industries and unionised workplaces have different rules.
- The tool multiplies days by premiums; it does not decide whether a break was actually provided.
- Derivative penalties (wage statements, waiting time) are estimated separately and depend on other conditions.
Sources were last checked in October 2026. Statutes are amended often; if the official text differs from this page, the official text controls.
4. Clear Next Steps & Statutory Action Plan
- Check timecards for meals starting after the fifth hour, shorter than 30 minutes or interrupted by work.
- Count affected days and note whether rest breaks were also denied those days.
- Raise the premiums with payroll in writing, or file a wage claim with the Labor Commissioner.
5. Frequently Asked Statutory Questions (Cal. Lab. Code § 226.7 & § 512; Brinker Restaurant Corp. v. Superior Court)
My lunch started 15 minutes after the fifth hour. Is that a violation?
A meal period that begins after the end of the fifth hour of work is late under § 512, unless a valid waiver or exception applies. Under Donohue, time records showing the late start create a presumption of violation that the employer can try to rebut.
Does premium pay affect my final paycheck?
Yes. Naranjo held that break premiums are wages, so unpaid premiums can support waiting time penalties if not paid at termination and must appear on wage statements.
Must my employer make sure I take my break?
No. Under Brinker the employer must relieve you of all duty and let you take it, but does not have to force you to stop working.
Can my employer require me to stay on the premises during a meal?
Requiring you to stay on site during a 30-minute meal can mean you are not fully relieved of duty, which can turn it into an on-duty meal that must be paid and may trigger a premium, depending on the circumstances.