Q: can my job takwe out 30 minutes off my time card even though i never took a lunch or break?

A: No, they cannot do that. You are entitled to payment for all of your work, and it sounds like your employer is stealing thirty minutes of wages from you for each day you work. Not only are you owed your unpaid wages, but you are likely also owed a "meal break premium payment" of one hour's pay for each day on which you couldn't take a timely, off-duty meal break, as well as penalties.

I suggest that you contact a lawyer to discuss to assist you. One excellent resource is the California Employment Lawyers Association.

Michael Malk

A: Meal break law seems simple but it can be very complicated. Meal and rest breaks are times when you are not under the control of the employer and free to do whatever you choose to do. Eat lunch, take a nap, or even continue to work.

If your employer is merely docking your time for 30 minutes daily without ever checking to see if you took a break, this is probably prohibited, you would be entitled to the 30 minutes of your stolen wages, and you could be entitled to a meal period premium pay of 1 hour for each day.

But if the employer is telling you to go to lunch at the right time and clocking you out, but you CHOOSE to stay at work, and even to continue work, the current law says they cannot control what you do during your private time off work, including they cannot force you to stop working. But they have to pay you for your work, so the 30 minutes would be reversed and you would be paid for it. Now, the real question is how have you notified your employer that you were actually working that time and not taking a lunch break? Did you report weekly that you missed meals for certain days?

Put yourself in the shoes of the employer, he tells you to take lunch, he tells you he is deducting 30 minutes each day for lunch, and he does not know you are working through lunch. How would he know to pay you?

Of course, the most often occurrence is that the employer tells you that he is taking 30 minutes out for lunch but never lets you go to lunch. This is a clear violation because he has not "permitted" you to go to lunch, by his practices, no matter what the written policies say.

You need to consult with a good employment attorney in your area, and you should be prepared to provide calendars showing the dates on which you did not go to lunch and you had your wages stolen by the employer.