Meal & Rest Periods:
Still Photography

This page covers meal and rest period guidelines for still photography shoots. There are different guidelines for video shoots. Please review the following information carefully. Failure to follow these guidelines will result in additional financial penalties. If you have any questions, please reach out to your OOTB Account Manager.

Still Photography: Meal Breaks

California law requires that all non-exempt, hourly employees take meal breaks as follows:

PLEASE NOTE:

  • An employee’s first meal break must begin BEFORE the employee has completed 5 full hours of work.

  • An employee’s second meal break must begin BEFORE the employee has completed 10 full hours of work. This break must be taken between the 6th and 10th hours of work.

  • Meal Waivers: An employee can choose to waive certain meal breaks if they have elected to do so in writing on their meal waiver form. All employees are asked to complete a meal waiver form during initial onboarding and can update their choices at any time prior to the hours being worked. We are happy to provide you with a list of meal waiver elections for all your employees prior to the first day of the shoot to help you manage on-set schedules.

    • Employees can waive their first meal break only if their total time worked is less than 6 hours.

    • Employees can waive their second meal break only if their total time worked is less than 12 hours.

  • MINORS under the age of 16 cannot choose to waive meal breaks, so you must ensure that the Studio Teacher and/or production management is enforcing meal and rest breaks.

  • A meal penalty is equivalent to 1 hour of work and is paid to the employee when meal breaks are not taken in accordance with the law, as described below. These penalties are paid as wages to the employee and charged to the client.

  • During a meal break, an employee must be completely released from their duties and free to leave the set during that 30-minute time period if they choose to do so. If an employee is provided with a meal break at the beginning of their shift, these rules must still be followed.

Still Photography: Rest Breaks

California law requires that all non-exempt, hourly employees take rest breaks as follows:

PLEASE NOTE

  • If an employee is entitled to two rest breaks, one should be taken before the meal break and one should be taken after the meal break.

  • Rest breaks should not be combined with each other or with the employee’s meal break.

  • Rest breaks should be taken, as far as is practical, in the middle of each work period.

  • If rest breaks are not permitted, the employee may be eligible for a break penalty that is equivalent to 1 hour of work for each rest break not given. These penalties are paid as wages to the employee and charged to the client.

Please see the below chart for examples of when meal breaks should be taken based on the employee’s start time.