CACI No. 2766A. Meal Break Violations - Essential Factual Elements (Lab. Code, §§ 226.7,
Judicial Council of California Civil Jury Instructions (2025 edition)
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2766A.Meal Break Violations - Essential Factual Elements (Lab.
Code, §§ 226.7, 512)
To establish a meal break violation, [name of plaintiff] must prove both of
the following:
1. That [name of plaintiff] worked for [name of defendant] for one or
more workdays for a period lasting longer than five hours; and
2. That [name of defendant] did not provide [name of plaintiff] with
the opportunity to take [a/an] [timely] uninterrupted meal break
of at least 30 minutes [for each five-hour period worked].
New December 2022
Directions for Use
If the case involves allegedly untimely meal breaks or more than one meal break,
select either or both of the bracketed options in element 2.
Do not give this instruction for any meal break claims involving the rebuttable
presumption of a violation based on an employer’s records. (See CACI No. 2766B,
Meal Break Violations - Rebuttable Presumption - Employer Records.)
The jury must also decide how much pay is owed for any meal break violations.
(See CACI No. 2767, Meal Break Violations - Pay Owed.)
Sources and Authority
• Right of Action for Meal and Rest and Recovery Period Violations. Labor Code
section 226.7.
• Meal Periods. Labor Code section 512.
• Meal Periods. Cal. Code Regs., tit. 8, § 11010 et seq., subd. 11.
Secondary Sources
3 Witkin, Summary of California Law (11th ed. 2017) Agency and Employment,
§§ 390-391
1 Wilcox, California Employment Law, Ch. 2, Applicability of Rules Governing
Hours Worked, §§ 2.08, 2.09 (Matthew Bender)
1 Wilcox, California Employment Law, Ch. 3, Determining Compensable Hours and
Proper Payment Amounts, § 3.01 (Matthew Bender)
21 California Forms of Pleading and Practice, Ch. 250, Employment Law: Wage and
Hour Disputes, § 250.14 (Matthew Bender)
California Civil Practice: Employment Litigation, §§ 4.1, 4.4 (Thomson Reuters)
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© Judicial Council of California.
