Daycare and Preschool Worker Rights in California: Ratios, Breaks

As a daycare or preschool worker in California, you have the right to at least minimum wage, overtime after 8 hours a day or 40 a week, a duty-free meal break and paid rest breaks even when the center has to keep staff-to-child ratios, pay for staff meetings, required trainings and time spent waiting for late pickups, workers’ comp for injuries, and protection when you report licensing or safety problems. A job title like “lead teacher” or “director” does not by itself take away your right to overtime.

This guide is for teachers, aides, assistants and directors at licensed child care centers, preschools and infant centers, and for assistants in family child care homes. If you teach K–12 at a private or charter school, see our private and charter school teacher guide; if you care for children in a family’s home, the nanny guide.

1. Which wage rules apply to daycare and preschool workers?

The Labor Commissioner’s classification guide places “pre-schools,” “child nurseries” and day care centers that provide board or lodging under Wage Order 5, and “day care centers, no board or lodging provided” under Wage Order 4. The guide is not binding, and the facts of your program matter, but the core rules below are the same under both orders.

Minimum wage. The state minimum wage is $16.90 an hour in 2026 and $17.40 from January 1, 2027. Many cities set a higher rate; check our minimum wage by city page.

Overtime. You are owed time and a half after 8 hours in a workday or 40 in a workweek, and double time after 12 hours in a workday, unless a valid alternative workweek was adopted by secret-ballot vote.

“Teacher” and “director” titles. To treat you as exempt from overtime, your employer must pay a salary of at least twice the state minimum wage for full-time work: $70,304 a year in 2026 and $72,384 in 2027. You must also do mainly exempt work. A center director may qualify as an exempt executive only if she manages the center, regularly directs two or more employees, has real say in hiring and firing, uses independent judgment and spends more than half her time on that work. A salaried lead teacher paid less than the salary floor is owed overtime no matter what the offer letter says. See misclassified as exempt.

💡 Example: Jasmine is a preschool teacher paid $20 an hour for 8-hour days. Each day she clocks out at closing, then waits about 20 minutes with children whose parents are late. That time is work, and because it falls after her eighth hour, it is daily overtime at $30 an hour: $10 a day, or $50 for a five-day week. Over 50 weeks, that adds up to $2,500 in unpaid overtime. (Hypothetical.)

Public preschool programs

If a school district, county office of education or other public agency employs you, most of the wage order does not apply. Wage Orders 4 and 5 exclude employees directly employed by the state or a political subdivision, except for a few sections, including the minimum wage section. Overtime then generally comes from the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, your union contract and, for classified school district staff, Education Code 45128 (time and a half after 8 hours a day or 40 a week, with some exceptions). See the classified school employee guide.

Key fact

2. Breaks when the center has to keep ratios

State licensing rules set minimum staffing. In a child care center, one teacher may supervise no more than 12 preschool children, or a teacher and an aide may supervise 15 (22 CCR 101216.3). In an infant center, the ratio is one teacher for every four infants (22 CCR 101416.5). Programs funded by the California Department of Education under Title 5 can follow different ratios. During naps, one teacher may watch up to 24 sleeping preschoolers or 12 sleeping infants, but only if the remaining staff needed to meet the regular ratio are “immediately available at the center” (22 CCR 101230, 101416.5).

Ratios are the center’s problem to solve with staffing. They do not cancel your break rights:

• Meal break. If you work more than 5 hours, a 30-minute duty-free meal period before the end of your fifth hour of work, and a second one if you work more than 10 hours (Labor Code 512).
• Rest breaks. A paid 10-minute rest break for every 4 hours worked or major fraction of 4 hours.
• Duty-free means duty-free. The California Supreme Court held in Augustus v. ABM Security Services (2016) that during rest breaks employers must “relieve their employees of all duties—including the obligation that an employee remain on call.” Meal periods also require relief from all duty. Sitting in the nap room watching sleeping children, or having to stay ready to be called back into ratio, is generally not a break.

“Eat with the kids” and on-duty meals

Many centers expect teachers to eat lunch with the children. That is an on-duty meal. Wage Orders 4 and 5 allow an on-duty meal only when “the nature of the work prevents an employee from being relieved of all duty,” and only with a written agreement that you can revoke in writing at any time. The time must be paid. The Labor Commissioner applies an objective test and gives examples like a sole worker in a coffee kiosk. A center with several staff on site may have trouble showing that no one can relieve you.

For each workday you miss a required meal or rest break, the employer owes one extra hour of pay at your regular rate (Labor Code 226.7). See meal and rest break violations.

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3. Unpaid prep, parent nights and required training

Under the wage orders, “hours worked” means time you are subject to your employer’s control, including all time you are “suffered or permitted to work.” That generally includes:

• Setup before opening and cleanup after closing, and waiting with children for late pickups.
• Staff meetings, parent-teacher conferences, open houses and family events you are required to attend.
• Lesson planning, portfolios and assessments your employer requires, even if you do them at home.
• Required training. California requires licensed child daycare employees to complete mandated reporter training within their first 90 days and every two years after (Health and Safety Code 1596.8662). Under federal rules, training can go unpaid only if it is outside regular hours, truly voluntary, not directly related to your job and involves no productive work (29 CFR 785.27).

Before- and after-school staff who work a morning block and an afternoon block with an unpaid gap may be owed a split-shift premium of one hour at minimum wage, depending on their pay. See split shift and reporting time pay and off-the-clock work.

Family child care homes

Licensed family child care providers who take part in state-funded programs can be represented by a provider organization that meets and confers with the state under the Building a Better Early Care and Education System Act (Welfare and Institutions Code 10420 et seq.). The organization certified for that role, Child Care Providers United-CA (CCPU), negotiates subsidy rates and benefit trusts with the state. The Act is not intended to change providers’ status as employees or independent business owners. If you work as an assistant for a family child care provider, you are generally the provider’s employee and are owed minimum wage, overtime, breaks and paid sick leave.

4. Pay problems we see in this job

Practice	Is it legal?	Law
Clocked out at closing, then told to wait for late parents	No. All time worked must be paid, including overtime.	Labor Code 1194; Wage Order section 2
Lunch “with the kids” with no written on-duty agreement	Generally no. A meal premium is owed.	Labor Code 226.7, 512; Wage Order section 11
Rest break taken in the nap room while watching children	Generally no. Rest breaks must be free of duty and on-call status.	Augustus v. ABM; Labor Code 226.7
Unpaid staff meetings, parent nights or required trainings	Generally no.	Wage Order section 2; 29 CFR 785.27
Salaried “lead teacher” paid less than $70,304 (2026) with no overtime	No. The exemption requires at least that salary.	Labor Code 515; Wage Order section 1
Required logo shirt or smock you must buy	Generally no. Required uniforms must be provided by the employer.	Wage Order section 9(A)
Tuition for your own child taken from your paycheck with no written authorization	No. Deductions need your written authorization or a legal basis.	Labor Code 224

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5. Safety, injuries and workers’ comp

Lifting toddlers, kneeling and sitting on the floor, bites and illnesses passed around a classroom are part of the job. Workers’ comp covers injuries and illnesses caused by work, including those that build up over time (Labor Code 5412).

• Required vaccines. Day care center employees and volunteers must be immunized against influenza, pertussis and measles. You may decline the flu shot with a written declaration, and a physician’s statement that a vaccine is not safe for you exempts you (Health and Safety Code 1596.7995).
• Workplace violence plans. Since July 1, 2024, most California employers must have a written workplace violence prevention plan, train staff every year and bar retaliation for reporting incidents (Labor Code 6401.9). The small-site exemption covers only workplaces with fewer than 10 employees on site that are not open to the public and that follow Cal/OSHA’s injury prevention rule. Report threats, including from a parent in a custody dispute, under that plan.
• Heat. Outdoor play yards are outdoor workplaces under Cal/OSHA’s heat rule, which requires water and shade (8 CCR 3395). Indoor classrooms that reach 82°F trigger the indoor heat rule (8 CCR 3396).

If you are hurt: tell your employer in writing right away. The Division of Workers’ Compensation warns that waiting more than 30 days can cost you benefits. Your employer must give you a claim form within one working day of learning of the injury, and the general deadline to start a case is one year (Labor Code 5405). Punishing you for filing is illegal under Labor Code 132a.

By the numbers$70,304

6. Retaliation, discrimination and leave

Protected activity	Protection	Law
Reporting ratio, supervision or licensing violations to the state’s Child Care Licensing Program, or to a supervisor	No retaliation; civil penalty up to $10,000 per violation, paid to you	Labor Code 1102.5
Safety complaints; refusing work that would violate a safety rule and create a real hazard	No discharge or discrimination	Labor Code 6310, 6311
Complaining about pay or filing a wage claim	No retaliation	Labor Code 98.6
Using paid sick leave (at least 40 hours or 5 days a year), including when your own child is sick	No retaliation	Labor Code 246, 246.5
Pregnancy, and lactation breaks after you return	Pregnancy leave up to four months (5+ employees); reasonable accommodation; a private place to pump	Gov. Code 12945; Labor Code 1030–1034
Filing a workers’ comp claim	No discrimination	Labor Code 132a
Disability, race, national origin, age and other protected traits	No discrimination; reasonable accommodation	FEHA (Gov. Code 12940)

See also pregnancy disability leave and lactation accommodation.

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7. What you can recover and deadlines

• Unpaid wages and overtime, plus interest. Wage claims generally must be filed within 3 years, or 4 under the Unfair Competition Law.
• Break premiums of one hour’s pay for each day a meal or rest break was missed.
• Penalties, including waiting time penalties of up to 30 days’ wages for late final pay (Labor Code 203), pay stub penalties (Labor Code 226) and civil penalties under PAGA.
• Retaliation remedies. A retaliation complaint to the Labor Commissioner generally must be filed within 1 year (Labor Code 98.7); a Civil Rights Department complaint within 3 years.
• Workers’ comp benefits, with a general 1-year deadline.

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8. What to do now

1. Keep your own log of arrival and departure times, late pickups and missed or interrupted breaks.
2. Save pay stubs, schedules and any written on-duty meal agreement. Check your pay with our wage and hour calculator.
3. Put ratio and safety concerns in writing, keep a copy, and note the date. You can also contact the CDSS Child Care Licensing Program.
4. Revoke an on-duty meal agreement in writing if you want real breaks.
5. Request in writing your personnel file and payroll records.
6. Report injuries in writing and ask for a claim form.

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Frequently asked questions

Can my daycare make me eat lunch with the children?

Only as a paid on-duty meal, only if the nature of the work truly prevents anyone from relieving you, and only with a written agreement you can revoke at any time. Otherwise you are owed a duty-free 30-minute meal break or a meal premium.

Is nap time my break?

Not if you are watching the children or must stay ready to be called back into ratio. A rest break must be free of all duties, including being on call.

I’m a salaried lead teacher. Do I get overtime?

If your salary is below $70,304 a year in 2026 ($72,384 in 2027), yes. Even above that line, you are owed overtime unless your actual duties meet an exemption test.

Do I get paid for staff meetings and required trainings?

Generally yes. Required meetings, parent events and job-related trainings, including mandated reporter training, are usually hours worked.

Do I have to get a flu shot to work at a daycare center?

State law requires flu, pertussis and measles immunity for center staff, but you may decline the flu shot in a signed written declaration, and a doctor’s statement can exempt you on medical grounds.

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Laws this guide relies on

Law	What it does	Link
Wage Orders 4 and 5	Overtime, breaks, on-duty meals, uniforms, exemptions	WO 5, WO 4
Labor Code 510, 512, 226.7	Overtime, meal periods, break premiums	§510, §512, §226.7
22 CCR 101216.3, 101230, 101416.5	Teacher-child ratios, nap ratios, infant ratios	101216.3, 101230, 101416.5
H&S Code 1596.7995, 1596.8662	Staff immunizations; mandated reporter training	1596.7995, 1596.8662
Labor Code 6401.9	Workplace violence prevention plans	§6401.9
W&I Code 10420 et seq.	Family child care provider representation	10420.5
Labor Code 1102.5, 98.6, 6310	Retaliation protections	§1102.5

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Sources

• IWC Wage Order 5 and Wage Order 4; DLSE “Which IWC Order?” (March 2013)
• DLSE meal periods FAQ; DIR News Release 2026-66 (2027 minimum wage and exempt salary)
• Augustus v. ABM Security Services, Inc. (2016) 2 Cal.5th 257, as modified: order modifying opinion
• Title 22 child care licensing regulations (via Cornell LII): 101216.3, 101230, 101416.5; CDSS Child Care Licensing
• Statute text (mirror): Labor Code 6401.9, W&I 10420.5, Education Code 45128; CalHR CCPU agreement summary
• Cal/OSHA 8 CCR 3395 and 8 CCR 3396; 29 CFR 785.27; DWC injured worker and claim filing pages

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