In California, anything over 10 hours, you are entitled to a second meal break, which you have to take before your 11th hour.
There’s something called “signing the meal waiver” where, if you sign it, you waive the right to a second meal break if you are going to be finished working before the 11th hour.
My problem is this:
I was told that if I signed the meal waiver, my schedule would be from 6:30-5 in the morning. If I didn’t, it would be 6:30-5:30 so that I could get a second lunch.
I didn’t waive my meal period, and I’m still working from 6:30 to 5 am. I talked to HR about it.
Their answer was basically, “oh, sorry, I know this is confusing! It’s actually if you work from 6:30-6, you would then have to waive the meal period in order to only work from 6:30-5:30.”
They are trying to state that, because there’s a meal break in the 10 1/2 hour shift that it then becomes 10 hours (i.e., I’m only ON THE CLOCK for ten hours) and therefore, I’m not entitled to a second meal break.
If I were scheduled for an actual 10 1/2 hour shift, my schedule would be from 6:30-5:30 if I waived the meal period. However if I did not waive the meal period, it would be 6:30-6 to accommodate for a second meal break.
I get that I’m only ON THE CLOCK for ten hours, but it’s not like I’m not SCHEDULED for 10 1/2 hours. It’s not like I have the choice to just leave when the ten hour mark hits. I HAVE to be there for 10 1/2 hours a day.
Therefore I should report them to the department of labor for not giving me my second meal, correct? I have screenshots of the conversation.