Surprisingly, we have received a few calls from potential clients inquiring about their rest periods and whether or not their employer can deduct the rest periods from the employee’s pay. What is basically happening here is that the employer will tell the employee that he or she can take a rest break, which is typically 10 minutes, but taking the breaks will be deducted from the employee’s pay. So what ends up happening is the employer will deduct 20 minutes from the employee’s pay that day. Let’s be clear, this is unlawful. An employer cannot deduct rest break time from an employee’s pay.
Under California law, employers must permit hourly employees to take one 10 minute rest break for every four hours of work. Further, an employer cannot deduct the 10 minute rest break from the employee’s pay because employers are required to pay for rest breaks under CA law (meal & lunch breaks are different). If your employer is deducting your pay for taking 10 minute rest breaks , you may have a claim against your employer and should call our firm for a free consultation.