Meal Breaks Compliance Incident System

Purpose

To ensure consistent compliance with California meal break laws, the company tracks “Meal Breaks Incidents” when an employee fails to follow the Meal Breaks Policy. This system promotes fairness, transparency, and equal application across all staff.

This Meal Breaks Incidents system is separate from the Attendance Incidents system; they are not combined.

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What Counts as a Meal Break Incident

An employee will receive one (1) incident for any of the following violations:

1. Late Meal Break

Failing to begin the meal break before the end of the 5th hour of work, unless the employee works less than 6 hours in that day and waives the meal break.

2. Short Meal Break

Returning from the lunch break before the full 30 minutes has elapsed.

3. Missed Meal Break

Failing to take the required 30-minute meal break at all.

4. Failure to Clock Out/In for Meal Break

Incorrect or missing time clock entries that prevent proper documentation of the break. HR will no longer review video tapes for clock out or in events.

Each violation will count separately as an incident even if they occur in the same break. For example, failing to clock out and taking a late break on the same day counts as two incidents.

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Corrective Action Structure

Five-Incident System

• Accumulating 5 incidents within any rolling 12-month period results in termination of employment.
• Existing employees start the rolling 12-month period as of the date of this policy. New hires start as of date of hire.
• Incidents total consists of a combination of any of the meal break violations above.
• Managers do not “warn” — the incident system is the warning system.

This creates objective, predictable accountability that is easy to track.

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Employee Petition for Rehire (Optional Employer Policy)

Employees terminated due to meal-break incidents may petition to be rehired immediately.

A rehire is not guaranteed.

If rehired:

Rehire Terms

• The employee’s new pay rate will be $1.00 per hour less than their previous rate (around $2,028 less per year).
• The employee begins with a clean slate of zero incidents.
• If the employee accumulates 5 meal break incidents a second time, it will result in termination and there is no possibility of rehiring.