California State law/regulation states that each RN is entitled to one unpaid meal break for every 5 hours worked.

An RN working 8-hour shifts is entitled to one unpaid meal break during the shift. In addition, the meal break must be provided during the first 5 hours of the shift. This means an RN who starts work at 7:00am must start her/his meal break no later than 11:59am. If the RN starts her/his meal break at 12:00noon or later, she/he is entitled to Code 45 even if she/he is able to take the meal break later in the shift.

RNs working 10-hour or 12-hour shifts are entitled to two unpaid meal breaks each shift. One meal break must be started within the first 5 hours of the shift and the second meal break must be started within the 5th to 10th hour of the shift. If the RN wants two meal breaks, she/he must work an additional 30 minutes to complete the shift. In other words, if the 12-shift RN  starts work at 7:00am and takes two unpaid meal breaks, she/he must work until 8:00pm to complete the shift. Also, the decision to take two meal breaks must be put in writing to the manager and must be taken everyday. The decision cannot be made on a day-to-day basis.

The requirement that the meal breaks are provided during the 5-hour blocks of the shift apply to the 10-hour and 12-hour shift RNs also.