California Labor Code section 512(a) generally allows an employer and employee to agree that if that employee works between ten and twelve hours in a day, the employee may waive his right to a second meal period, as long as the first meal period was not waived. This law was intended to allow employees the option to leave work early after a long work day by waiving their second meal period. However, a second meal period generally cannot be waived for shifts longer than 12 hours. Gerard v Orange Coast Mem’l Med. Ctr. (2015). In other words, an employer is required to provide two meal periods or meal breaks for a worker who works a shift of over 12 hours, which cannot be waived.
Like in many other cases involving labor code violations, when an employee complains about not being provided a meal period or a second meal period, that complaint is considered a “protected activity” within the meaning of anti-retaliation laws, and an employer who demotes or fires an employee for those types of complaints (whether made internally or to the Labor Board / DLSE) is likely to be liable for retaliation and wrongful termination.