An employee earning $20.00 per hour misses both a required meal period and a required rest period on the same workday. What total premium pay is owed for that day?
Explanation
Labor Code §226.7(c) owes one hour at the regular rate for the day's meal-period violation and a separate hour for the day's rest-period violation, so at $20.00 an hour the premium is $40.00. (a) is the single-premium belief - that the statute caps the day at one hour however many categories were missed - which United Parcel Service rejected. (d) pays three hours by counting each individual break missed: an eight-hour shift owes one meal period and two rest periods, so this is the per-break rather than per-category error. (c) pays half an hour, as though the premium were prorated to the length of the break rather than fixed at one hour.
Law Reference: Labor Code §226.7(c); United Parcel Service, Inc. v. Superior Court (2011) 196 Cal.App.4th 57This topic, taught in full in the CSLB Law & Business guide. CSLB Law & Business — Complete Study Guide (2026) — PDF + EPUB, $24.99 · 14-day refund →
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