California
California rest break rules for field crews
The hardest state in the country to get right, and the one where getting it wrong is most expensive. California layers daily overtime, double time, a seventh-day premium, meal and rest periods and a split-shift premium on top of the federal weekly rule, and it lets employees enforce most of it themselves.
What the law requires
One paid 10-minute rest period per 4 hours worked "or major fraction thereof".
What it means on a crew
"Major fraction" means more than half, so the count steps at 3.5, 6 and 10 hours rather than at 4, 8 and 12. An 6.5-hour shift owes two rest periods, not one.
What Punchless does
The required count is computed on the major-fraction reading, and rest time is never deducted from pay - there is no rest entry type, so it stays inside on-site time.
Every rule we enforce is published with the statute behind it and the test that checks it, so this is a claim you can verify rather than take on faith.
Where we fall short
We count what is owed but do not flag a shortfall. Nothing compares the required count against rest actually taken, so a missed rest break does not appear as a violation.
If you are relying on this, ask us before you buy. We would rather lose the sale than have you find out at a hearing.
Other California rules
Verified against primary sources on August 3, 2026. Statutes and wage orders change, and some of this is genuinely unsettled - re-check the source before relying on it. Punchless is not a law firm and this is not legal advice.