Employers must authorize and permit uninterrupted rest breaks for all nonexempt employees whose total daily work time is at least 3.5 hours. If you work over 5 hours in a day, you are entitled to a meal break of at least 30 minutes that must start before the end of the fifth hour of your shift.Under CA law, meal breaks are uninterrupted, unpaid 30minute breaks to which every employee is legally entitled. Workers have a right to at least a 30minute meal break or each 6 hours worked in a calendar day. If you have worked less than 6 hours in a day, you can agree to forego your meal break. You can also agree to take your meal break while on duty. If you work at least 3.5 hours in a day, you are to be given one paid 10minute rest break. Under California's meal break law, the employer must provide employees with an unpaid 30-minute meal break for every 5 hours they work. What Does California Law Say About Rest and Meal Breaks? Like meal breaks, federal law does not require rest breaks.