Irvine Partner Discusses California’s Break Premium

In an interview with SRHM, Christine Baran discusses California’s break premium, which is one additional hour of pay at the employee's regular rate of pay. She explains how break premiums and overtime must be based on the person's regular rate of pay, which includes hourly wages, shift differentials, piece-rate and incentive compensation, commissions, and nondiscretionary bonuses.

She also notes that companies should "regularly audit employees' time records to ensure that they are taking complete and timely meal breaks. If the audit reveals noncompliant meal breaks, find out why this occurred. Take corrective action when an employee consistently fails to follow the company's wage and hour policies and practices. Make sure that your managers have a solid understanding of the company's wage and hour policies and practices."

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