California rest breaks: 10 minutes paid for every 4 hours worked.
Separate from meal breaks, California requires a 10-minute paid rest break for every 4 hours worked — or major fraction thereof. A worker on a 5-hour shift gets 1 rest break; a 6-hour shift gets 1; a 10-hour shift gets 2. Like meal breaks, missed rest breaks trigger 1 hour of premium pay.
Rest Breaks (10 min paid)
Tracks 10-minute paid rest break entitlement based on hours worked. Workers receive 1 break per 4 hours (major fraction). Missed breaks trigger separate premium pay.
What the rule does as work segments accumulate.
The hero card configuration: Avoid on rest break reminders, Critical on missed-break premium. Here's what each does at runtime.
When a worker has worked 2 hours since their last break, the worker app surfaces a Avoid: "Time for a rest break." Rest breaks should be in the middle of each 4-hour work segment when practicable.
If a rest break is missed, the timesheet auto-tags 1 hour of premium pay at the regular rate — separate from any meal break premium. A worker who missed both a meal AND rest break on the same day owes 2 hours of premium.
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Per 4 hours or major fraction. Mid-shift when practicable.
The 'major fraction' rule means workers earn a rest break for working more than 2 hours in any 4-hour segment. The break should be in the middle of the segment whenever practical.
Major fraction = more than half
A 'major fraction' of 4 hours means more than 2 hours. So a worker logging 2.01 hours of additional work past their last rest break has earned another rest break. Practical break entitlement: 0-3.5 hours = 0 breaks; 3.5-6 hours = 1; 6-10 hours = 2; 10-14 = 3.
Paid time, not time-off
Unlike meal breaks, rest breaks are PAID — they count as time worked. Workers do not clock out for rest breaks. Workers who are required to remain on premises during rest breaks are not in violation of duty-free rules (because rest breaks are paid time).
Teambridge tracks rest break entitlement and validates compliance.
Rest breaks are easy to forget — they're short (10 minutes) and paid (no clock-out). Teambridge tracks them anyway.
Per-shift break count.
At shift creation, Teambridge calculates the worker's rest break entitlement (0-3 breaks based on shift length). The count is shown in the shift detail.
Worker app push at 2 hours since last break.
The worker app pushes a reminder at 2 hours after the last break (or shift start). The reminder reflects practical mid-segment timing.
Workers can log rest breaks taken.
Workers can log a rest break in the app (helpful for retrospective audit). Logging is optional — California does not require employers to track that rest breaks were actually taken (Brinker).
If pattern shows missed breaks, premium auto-tags.
Where evidence exists that a rest break was not provided (e.g., manager-required continuous work, no break logged on a 5+ hour shift), Teambridge surfaces this for review and can auto-tag the premium.
Still evaluating? Get a free California compliance audit.
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