Who this is for: admins at brands with California locations. Break attestation is off by default and only applies to California locations once an admin switches it on. It isn't available outside California yet.

In California, if a team member says they missed a break and your time records can't show otherwise, the law assumes the break was missed. Break attestation gives you a record, in the team member's own words, of whether they had the chance to take their breaks.

When it's switched on, team members at your California locations answer up to two questions before their clock-out is saved:

Each question has three answers. Team members see the full wording; the short names below are what you see in settings and on timecards:

Break attestation is set up once for the whole brand from the Compliance settings.

1. Go to Settings > Compliance, open California, then select any California location under Branch overrides and scroll to Break attestation. The setting applies to the whole brand.

2. Check the questions and answers. You can use Nory's suggested wording or change it to suit your team, in English and Spanish. What each answer means stays fixed, so exports and pay runs stay correct.

3. Optional: add a link to your break policy. Team members can open it while answering.

4. Switch on Ask team members to attest to breaks at clock-out and save.

All of your locations that require break attestation are included automatically, including new ones. You need permission to manage compliance settings to make changes.

💡 Changes apply from the next clock-out. Shifts already answered keep the exact question and answers the team member saw.

💡 English wording must be complete before you can switch break attestation on. A language that isn't fully written is never shown to team members.

Every change to the break attestation questions is recorded.

Select View history to see every version, who changed it, what changed and their note (for example, "Wording approved by our employment lawyer").

A "Prevented by work" answer can add premium pay to the shift.

A "Prevented by work" answer adds a premium of one hour's pay to the shift: one per break type per day, for hourly team members. Premiums are only created when missed break premiums are switched on in your statutory premiums settings. You'll see a warning in the Break attestation settings if they aren't.

Break attestation answers show on timecards and in a dedicated export.

Timecards: open a timecard to see the team member's answers word for word, when they answered and whether it was in the Team App or on the kiosk. Timecards are flagged with Meal break prevented by work, Rest break prevented by work or No break attestation so you can review them.

Export: go to Payroll, pick the location, open Timecards and select the download icon, then choose Break attestations (CSV). You can also pick Break attestations from the People export. Choose up to 92 days at a time. The file includes the questions and answers shown, the language, premiums, and why a shift has no answers.

A timecard shows No break attestation when the team member wasn't asked or their answers no longer apply. This happens when:

Quick answers to common questions about break attestation.

Can team members skip the break questions? No, team members can't skip the questions. Their clock-out isn't saved until they answer. If they back out, they stay clocked in.

What if a team member has no signal at clock-out? Team members can't clock out until they reconnect, the same as today.

Is break attestation available outside California? No, break attestation is only available for California locations at the moment.

Before contacting support, check that your brand has California locations, that break attestation is switched on in Settings > Compliance, and that missed break premiums are switched on if premiums are missing. If you still need help, contact us with the location, the team member's name, the shift date and a screenshot.