A single missed rest break is one hour of pay. Multiplied across a retail workforce and a limitations period, and amplified by PAGA and the derivative wage-statement and final-pay claims that follow, it becomes the largest single category of California retail exposure. This calculator scopes that exposure.

The premium itself comes from Labor Code § 226.7: one additional hour of pay for each workday a compliant meal or rest period is not provided. After Ferra v. Loews, that hour is paid at the regular rate of compensation — a blended rate that includes nondiscretionary pay, not the base hourly wage — so enter a blended figure. The meal-period entitlement and timing are fixed by § 512 and Wage Order 7. The PAGA layer is a simplified model of the civil penalties available under the Private Attorneys General Act; see PAGA for how the 2024 reform reshaped penalties, caps, and the employee share.