California meal break rules
FieldTime enforces the following rules for all non-exempt employees. Exempt employees are not subject to California §512 meal break requirements; the audit skips all meal break checks for exempt employees.| Rule | Threshold | Requirement | Waivable? |
|---|---|---|---|
| First meal break | More than 5 continuous hours of work | A 30-minute unpaid meal break must be provided before the employee exceeds 5 continuous hours | Yes — when total day ≤ 6 hours |
| First meal break — short | Break taken but under 30 minutes | 1 hour of premium pay at the regular rate is owed | No |
| Second meal break | More than 10 total hours worked in the day | A second 30-minute unpaid meal break must be provided | Yes — when total day ≤ 12 hours and the first meal was taken |
| Second meal break — over 12 hours | More than 12 total hours worked in the day | Premium pay is owed regardless of any waiver on file | Never waivable |
How FieldTime tracks meal breaks
FieldTime evaluates meal break compliance on a per-business-day basis, not per individual shift entry. This matters when an employee has multiple clock-in/clock-out entries on the same day.- Multi-shift days: All shifts that share the same Pacific business date are merged into a single continuous work timeline. Inter-shift gaps of 30 minutes or more count as a valid meal break, even if no explicit meal break entry was recorded.
- Logged meal breaks: When an employee records a meal break (via the punch clock or manual entry), FieldTime measures the duration. Breaks under 30 minutes are flagged as “short” — the premium still applies even though a break was attempted.
- Midnight-spanning shifts: A shift that starts before midnight and ends after midnight is attributed to the business date on which the shift began (Pacific time). Hours after midnight count toward the same day’s total for §512 purposes.
- Clock-based entries only: The meal break audit runs only on entries that have explicit clock-in and clock-out times. Manual hours-only entries do not trigger meal break findings.
Premium pay calculation
When a meal break finding is generated, FieldTime adds 1 hour of premium pay at the employee’s regular rate to the timesheet totals. This premium rolls up in the Compliance panel and is included in the total hours calculation sent to payroll. Premium pay is owed until the finding is either waived (see below) or the underlying entry is corrected to show a compliant break.Resolving meal break findings
You have three options when a meal break finding appears:Add or correct the meal break
If a 30-minute break was taken but not recorded, edit the time entry and add the meal break with the correct start and end times. Re-run the audit — if the break now appears and is 30 minutes or longer, the finding will clear automatically.
Record a per-day waiver
If the employee and employer mutually agreed to waive the meal break for that specific day (and the day meets the eligibility thresholds — see below), open the Compliance panel and select Waive Meal 1 or Waive Meal 2 for the applicable date. FieldTime records your consent, re-runs the audit, and converts the
ERROR finding to an informational NOTICE.Apply a standing waiver
If the employee has signed a standing §512 waiver agreement, all eligible days are automatically covered. See Standing meal waiver agreements below.
Meal break waivers
California §512 allows employees and employers to mutually agree — in writing — to waive a meal break under specific conditions. FieldTime supports two waiver mechanisms.Per-day waivers
A per-day waiver is a one-time consent recorded against a specific workday from the Compliance panel. It is appropriate when an employee occasionally works a short day and both parties agree to skip the break.- Eligibility check: FieldTime re-evaluates eligibility at waiver-record time. If the day’s total hours have since changed (for example, an entry was edited), the waiver may no longer apply.
- Audit trail: Every per-day waiver is recorded in the audit log with the consent text version, the recording party’s role (employee or administrator), and the IP address.
- Revocation: To revoke a per-day waiver, open the Compliance panel for the same date and toggle the waiver off. FieldTime re-runs the audit and reinstates the premium if the day is still out of compliance.
Standing meal waiver agreements
A standing waiver is a revocable blanket agreement that automatically applies to all §512-eligible days for an employee, across all open timesheets. To sign a standing waiver:Open your profile or compliance settings
Navigate to Profile → Meal Break Waiver (or ask your administrator to sign on your behalf from the Employees section).
Review the agreement text
Read the full consent text, which includes the exact waiver language and the policy version number. The text is preserved in an immutable waiver agreement record.
Only one standing waiver agreement can be active at a time. Signing a new agreement automatically revokes the previous one. Administrators can sign or revoke a waiver on an employee’s behalf; the audit record identifies whether the action was taken by the employee or an administrator.
Waiver eligibility rules
| Waiver type | Eligible when | Not eligible when |
|---|---|---|
| First meal waiver | Total day hours ≤ 6 | Total day hours > 6 |
| Second meal waiver | Total day hours ≤ 12 and first meal was taken | Total day hours > 12 or first meal was not taken |