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Can we require employees to remain on our premises during rest breaks?

No. Under Augustus v. ABM Security Systems, Inc., employers must relieve employees of all duties and control during rest breaks, including how they spend their time.

The California Labor Commissioner has stated that employers cannot require employees to remain on the premises during rest breaks.

However, employers may discipline employees who fail to follow rest break policies, such as not returning on time.

Read about "Providing the Rest Break" in Rest Breaks in the HR Library.

Q&As

Can the 10-minute rest break be waived?
Can I assign a time when an employee must take a lunch break?
Can we automatically deduct a half-hour for meal period if an employee doesn't clock in and out?
If an employee wants to leave early, may he waive his meal period?
Can I have my employees combine their two rest breaks into a single 20-minute rest break?
Are there any exceptions to California’s meal and rest break rules?
Can an employee take their lunch too early?
Is the meal break penalty used in calculating overtime?
Are meal break requirements determined by the total length of an employee’s shift, or by the number of hours actually worked?
Do I owe an employee a one-hour meal period premium because their lunch break was late or only if they didn’t get a meal break at all?
Can the meal period requirement be waived for a working lunch?
When an employer fails to provide two rest breaks and two meal breaks in the same day, is an employee entitled to four hours?
Is there an official rule stating that meal breaks must start 4 hours and 59 minutes into an employee’s eight-hour shift?
Do I have to pay additional wages for a rest break if we pay our employees by piece rate?
What can we do to curb employees from taking long rest breaks to be on their cell phones?
How can we prove that employees are being provided their rest breaks?
Must I provide a break area or room for my employees?
How often do we have to renew the written meal period waiver?
Are there any situations where an employer might be legally required to change an employee’s meal break schedule?
What do I do about smokers who take more breaks than non-smokers take?
How much time do I have to give my employees for meal and rest breaks?