California is well known for its efforts to provide protection to workers, and many employees and shift workers wonder what the minimum required break is between shifts. Long work days can take a toll, and the Armstrong Law Firm believes in the importance of employees fully understanding their rights as employees. Like anything else in law, requirements for work periods are not black and white, and they may depend on several factors. Life is expensive in California, and our San Francisco overtime wage and hour attorney understands that you may be concerned about losing your job if you ask too many questions or give pushback on unethical or illegal practices. Our firm endeavors to support exploited workers, hold employers accountable, and seek justice.
Shift Requirements in California
California does not have any specific requirements for time you must have between working shifts. However, the state has many protections in place to ensure workers are appropriately compensated for time beyond eight hours in a day and 40 hours in a set week. Some of these rest time protections include:
- 30-minute meal period for every five hours of work
- 10-minute rest period for every four hours worked
- 1.5 times the standard rate of hours worked beyond eight in a 24-hour period
- Two times the standard rate for time worked beyond 12 hours
- 1.5 times the standard hourly rate for the first eight hours worked on the seventh consecutive day
- Two times the standard rate for hours worked beyond eight on the seventh consecutive day of work.
- Accommodations for lactation needs
While none of these regulations require a certain amount of downtime between shifts, it may frequently discourage employers from overworking their staff due to the increased expense. In many cases, it may also offer more fair compensation to the employees who put in the extra hours. There may be exceptions to these requirements for certain career paths and job categories.
Split Shift Premium
A situation like a split shift may prompt questions surrounding the required time between shifts. Per the Department of Industrial Relations, a split shift occurs when a worker has unpaid, unworkable time that is longer than the 30-minute meal break. An example provided by the DIR could be when you work the breakfast shift in a restaurant for a few hours, go off duty for a slow period, and then come back a few hours later to work the dinner shift. This may feel like two shifts to many, and if it is to the advantage of the employer, you may be entitled to a split shift premium to be paid each shift.
Protect Your Rights
Though you may not be legally protected from working two shifts back-to-back or with little break, you should be appropriately compensated for it, whether that be inappropriate salary pay or designated overtime hours. If you have concerns about the hour and wage practices of your employer, you may benefit from a free case consultation with The Armstrong Firm. When you contact us to schedule your case evaluation, you can discuss the situation with a member of our San Francisco employment attorney team, and we can discuss your legal options.