ttztotdca50 wrote: However, because it was a six-hour shift, they assured me that--as long as I clocked out by my sixth hour--I wouldn't get a meal penalty, even without the form.
There's your problem. See IWC 17-2001.9 (A):
No employer shall employ any person for a work period of more than five (5) hours without a meal period of not less than 30 minutes, except that when a work period of not more than six (6) hours will complete the day’s work the meal period may be waived by mutual consent of the employer and the employee.
Without the waiver, you can work up to five hours without a meal break. When you hit the five hour mark, your employer is obligated to provide a meal period. This obligation may be deferred to the sixth hour
with an appropriate waiver indicating mutual consent of the waive. Since it appears you have no waiver on file, your employer was obligated to provide you with a meal period since you worked over five hours. Had the mutual consent waiver been executed by that shift, you would have had no problem working six hours without a meal period.
Now, if your supervisor failed to provide a meal period during your 6 hour shift by incorrectly informing you that you do not receive a meal period as long as you clock out by the 6th hour, your employer is required by law to pay you one hour of pay at your regular rate [9 (C)]. In other words, if the phrase "Meal Penalty" shows up in workbrain, the Company knows you didn't have a meal period when you were supposed to. If you let them know that your supervisor (and by extension, your employer) failed to provide you with a meal period for >5 hours worked (because the waiver didn't go through), the Company is required to pay you for one hour at your regular rate of pay (formerly called a "penalty," now called a "wage"). The workbrain's "Meal Penalty" message that you see is simply the Company's way of telling you, "hey, we're going to get in trouble if you continue not to have a meal period." Your paycheck should also include this one hour missed meal period wage (formerly "penalty"). If it does not and your employer failed to provide you with a meal period, you have a valid claim and case against your employer (though employees are usually reluctant to take on their employer
while they're still working for them. They shouldn't be, though, there are Whistle Blower and similar laws on the books that make any Company-end recourse or retaliation completely illegal). The statute of limitations for this kind of a claim in California is three years.
If you have further inquiries, contact the Company's HR division (they should have provided you with the meal period in the first place... it was improper for a supervisor not knowledgeable of the law to advise you to not take a meal period, it indicates liability on the Company's part). If you need help from outside of the Company, see your Union rep or go straight to the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement. There is a DLSE office in Santa Ana.
Especially if you get in trouble for this "Meal Penalty" nonsense, you need to pursue the issue and attest to the misinformation you were given, and ultimately, that
you were denied a meal period during that shift. An employer
cannot penalize an employee for misconduct which the former is responsible for. Part of running a business includes a certain responsibility to follow Labor Laws. The impetus in this situation is on the Employer, especially since your employer explicitly told you what to do. If you get in trouble for this, you really need to file a claim and/or get the Union involved (assuming ODV HH is part of a Union).