California requires employers to maintain accurate time records reflecting all hours worked, including start and end times of meal periods. Labor Code § 1174(d). In  Donohue v. AMN Services, LLC (2021), the California Supreme Court held unequivocally:

●  Employers may not round worker time punches for off-duty meal periods;

●  Rather, employers must record the actual start and end times of meal periods; and

●  If time records fail to show compliant meal periods (missed, short, or late), employers face a rebuttable presumption of multiple Labor Code violations.

Even a few minutes’ rounding is impermissible as meal period rights carry precise statutory thresholds, including a minimum 30-minute duration and start no later than the fifth full hour of work.

Compliance is not optional. Failure to create and preserve such records for at least three years creates management’s presumed failure to provide the minimum 30-minute, off-duty meal periods to every employee, creating possible liability for as many as four years of operation. Those consequences include (a) class action liability for such multiple violations, including one hour of premium pay per day per employee; and (b) liability under Private Attorneys General Act of 2004 (PAGA) under a similar cascade of related violations.

Simple, inexpensive prevention measures can eliminate cash-mountains of necessary “cure” for such neglect.  In one recent class action/PAGA action, with about 85 workers involved, analysis projected possible exposure of nearly $1,000,000 for management’s entirely avoidable lack of such exact records.

Take-Aways: Apply compliance best practices, including:

1. Precise Timekeeping Systems: Ensure digital systems record daily minute-by-minute timestamps for all hours worked and, without rounding, off-duty meal periods;
2. Employee Attestations: Implement and maintain attestation prompts at clock-out for  employees to confirm they took meal periods in full and on time;
3. Regular Audits: Perform regular time records audits for meal period compliance;
4. Training: Train managers and supervisors on proper meal period protocols and the importance of accurate timekeeping; and
5. Prompt Remediation: If violations are discovered, pay meal period premiums promptly and document.

For further information, please contact Tim Bowles, Cindy Bamforth or Helena Kobrin.

See also:

• Old School Is Punching Out – Deter Class Action Challenges by Digital Timekeeping (April 18, 2025)
• Workplace Roulette – Reducing the Odds of PAGA Purgatory (December 13, 2024)
• Munched for Lunch – No Break for Paying Employee’s Meal Times (September 20, 2024)
• Timekeeping Policy – Fourth Dimension Attention: It’s in the Cards (February 24, 2023)

Tim Bowles
August 8, 2025