California Wage Order 3: Canning, Freezing and Preserving

California Wage Order 3 (IWC Order No. 3-2001) sets the wage, hour and working-condition rules for the canning, freezing and preserving industry: plants that can, freeze, cure, pickle, salt, bottle or otherwise preserve fruits, vegetables, seafood, meat, poultry and rabbit products. Cannery line workers, sorters, sanitation crews, forklift drivers and office staff at these plants are generally covered.

Order 3 has rules you will not find in most other orders, including a 72-hour limit on seven consecutive days of work and a “work recess” rule that lets employers stop the clock during some long line shutdowns. During peak season, those details decide whether you are paid for every hour you are kept at the plant. Labor Code section 1198 makes the order’s standards binding.

This guide explains who Order 3 covers, which of its numbers have been updated by later state law, and what each section means for you, based on the official text posted by the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) as of October 2026.

Who Wage Order 3 covers

Order 3 defines the canning, freezing and preserving industry as any business operated to can soups, or to cook, can, cure, freeze, pickle, salt, bottle, preserve or otherwise process fruits or vegetables, seafood, meat, poultry or rabbit products, when the purpose of the processing is preserving the product, including all operations incidental to it.

The Labor Commissioner’s guide, Which IWC Order?, lists canned and frozen fish, fruit, meat, poultry and vegetables, canned soups, stews and hash, canned pet food, fruit jellies and preserves, and juice concentrates.

The line between Order 3 and its neighbors matters:

• Order 1 (manufacturing) covers secondary food manufacturing, such as non-retail bakeries, candy, tortillas, chips, breweries and soft-drink bottling. See Wage Order 1.
• Order 8 covers industries handling products after harvest, such as packing, cooling, grading and sorting crops, unless the grower that produced them does that work on its own farm (Order 13).
• Order 13 covers a farmer preparing the farmer’s own crop for market in a permanent structure or moving packing plant.

By the numbers72 hours

Which wage order applies to me? Industry vs. occupation

California has 17 wage orders. Most are industry orders; five are occupation orders (Orders 4, 14, 15, 16 and 17). The Labor Commissioner first asks whether the employer’s business is covered by an industry order and looks to an occupation order only if it is not. A business is classified by its main purpose, and an industry order covers all of that business’s employees, so a bookkeeper at a cannery is under Order 3, not the clerical occupation order. Distinct operations of a multi-purpose company can fall under different orders only if they serve different purposes and are managed separately at all levels. The Labor Commissioner’s guide is persuasive, not binding on courts.

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Exemptions

• Executive, administrative and professional employees are exempt from sections 3 through 12 only if they meet the duties tests and earn a monthly salary of at least twice the state minimum wage for full-time work: $70,304 a year in 2026, rising to $72,384 on January 1, 2027. A line lead who mostly works the line is usually not exempt; see misclassified exempt employees.
• Outside salespersons, the employer’s parent, spouse or child, and national service participants are excluded. Government employees are covered only by sections 1, 2, 4, 10 and 20.

Hours, overtime, the 72-hour limit and work recesses

Order 3’s overtime rules match Labor Code 510: 1.5 times the regular rate for hours over 8 in a workday, over 40 in a workweek and for the first 8 hours on the seventh consecutive day; double time for hours over 12 in a day and over 8 on the seventh consecutive day.

Two rules are specific to Order 3:

• 72 hours in seven days. Order 3 says an employee may work up to a maximum of 72 hours in seven consecutive days, after which the employee must have a 24-hour period off duty. Overtime is still owed on the daily and weekly hours.
• Work recesses. If, during a workday, the employer declares a recess of 30 minutes or more (other than a meal period), tells employees when to report back and lets them leave the premises, the recess need not be counted as hours worked. There can be no more than two such recesses in one shift, totaling no more than two hours. Work stoppages of less than 30 minutes may not be deducted from hours worked.

💡 Example (setting meal periods aside): Luis spends 12 hours at the plant on a tomato line at $19 an hour. A breakdown stops the line for 20 minutes; later a 45-minute recess is declared and workers are told to return at 2:15 and may leave the plant. The 20-minute stoppage must be paid. The 45-minute recess can be unpaid, leaving 11 hours and 15 minutes worked: 8 hours at $19 ($152) plus 3.25 overtime hours at $28.50 ($92.63), or $244.63. If workers had to stay on site, the recess would be hours worked.

Employers may also use an alternative workweek of up to 10 hours a day within 40 hours, but only after a two-thirds secret-ballot vote with proper disclosure and a meeting at least 14 days before the vote. See alternative workweeks and long shifts. Order 3 also allows an accumulation of days of rest when the work reasonably requires seven or more consecutive days, as long as you get the equivalent of one day’s rest in seven each calendar month.

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Meal and rest breaks

A 30-minute meal period is required for a work period of more than five hours (waivable by mutual consent only if six hours or less completes the day), and a second one after 10 hours (waivable only if you work 12 hours or less and did not waive the first). Unless you are relieved of all duty, the meal period is paid time. On shifts that begin or end between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., the employer must provide a way to get or heat hot food and drink and a sheltered place to eat.

Rest periods are 10 paid minutes for every four hours worked or major fraction. A fast line does not excuse a missed break: for each workday a meal or rest period is not provided, the employer owes one additional hour of pay at your regular rate of compensation (Labor Code 226.7). See meal and rest break premiums.

Key fact

Minimum wage, reporting time and split shifts

Section 4 of the 2026 order prints the state minimum wage of $16.90 an hour. DIR updates it yearly under Labor Code 1182.13 and has announced $17.40 from January 1, 2027. A higher city rate controls; see California minimum wage by city. Piece-rate pay must still equal at least minimum wage for all hours worked.

Reporting-time pay: if you report for a scheduled shift and get less than half of it, you are owed half the scheduled day, at least two and no more than four hours, at your regular rate. The exceptions are threats to people or property, a civil-authority recommendation, a utility failure, or an act of God or other cause outside the employer’s control. Split-shift pay adds one hour at minimum wage when your day is broken by an unpaid gap the employer sets. See split-shift and reporting-time pay.

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Uniforms, cold rooms, seats and records

Section	What Order 3 requires
Uniforms and tools	Employer provides and maintains required uniforms, tools and equipment (customary hand tools may be required only of employees earning twice minimum wage). Cal/OSHA-regulated protective gear falls under safety standards.
Shortages and breakage	No deductions unless caused by a dishonest or willful act or gross negligence
Temperature	Where work requires temperatures under 60°F, a heated room kept at 68°F or more where employees can warm up; all feasible means to reduce excessive heat or humidity
Change rooms and seats	Lockers and change rooms when a change of clothing is required; seats when the work reasonably permits
Meals and lodging (2026)	Credits only by voluntary written agreement: breakfast $6.10, lunch $8.42, dinner $11.28; room alone $79.46/week; shared room $65.59/week
Records	Start and end of each work period, meal periods and daily hours; piece rates or incentive formulas given to employees; kept at least three years

The Labor Code controls where it gives more, including the detailed pay-stub rules of Labor Code 226 and reimbursement of necessary work expenses under Labor Code 2802.

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What to do if your plant is violating Order 3

1. Track your hours, including every line stoppage, recess and break. Your employer cannot forbid a personal record (Labor Code 1174).
2. Note whether you could leave during recesses and who told you when to return.
3. Keep pay stubs and piece-rate sheets.
4. Estimate your claim with our wage and hour calculator.
5. Mind the deadline: most wage claims must be brought within three years (Code of Civil Procedure 338). Seasonal workers should not wait for the next season.
6. Get advice on a Labor Commissioner claim or a lawsuit.

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Frequently asked questions

Is a frozen-food plant covered by Order 3 or Order 1?

Freezing fruits, vegetables, seafood, meat, poultry or rabbit to preserve them is Order 3. Secondary manufacturing, such as making candy, chips or baked goods, is generally Order 1.

Can my cannery make me work seven days in a row?

Order 3 allows up to 72 hours in seven consecutive days, followed by 24 hours off duty, and overtime rules still apply. Days of rest may accumulate, but you must get the equivalent of one day in seven each month.

Do I get paid when the line breaks down?

Stoppages under 30 minutes must be paid. A recess of 30 minutes or more can be unpaid only if you are told when to return and allowed to leave the premises, with no more than two per shift and two hours total.

Is the minimum wage in Order 3 current?

The 2026 posting shows $16.90, matching state law. It becomes $17.40 on January 1, 2027.

What other wage orders might apply to food workers?

Restaurant and catering kitchens fall under Wage Order 5, and food manufacturers generally fall under Order 1.

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