I work in California and I occasionally get scheduled for 5 hours. My understanding, and what I’ve read, is that you get a meal break if you work 5 or more hours. Whenever I get these shifts, I bring it up to any one of my managers that are working and ask if I can take a break. They always say, “No, just clock out 10/15 minutes early.” I’d usually have no problem with that, but since these are closing shifts, I am stuck in the store until the manager is done with their duties and opens the doors for the other closing employees to leave. So I’m still there for 5 hours. Is this legal? I know this is not a lawyer based sub, but some of you may know better than me.
Thank you for taking your time to read this. This post is mainly just to get it off my chest as it irritates me and feels like exploitation. In my mind, I work a lot harder than most of my coworkers and have a better attitude as well. Hell, I had to do a mangers job one time because they are too lazy, and this is known by other managers. Anyway, thanks again.