July, 2008

California Court Issues Major Meal and Rest Break Decision

From Larry Levy, Human Resource Specialist, Larry Levy Employee Relations Management in Marin County

A California court has finally clarified employers' obligation to provide meal and rest periods to hourly employees.

Employers are required to provide a ten-minute rest break for each four-hour period worked, and (usually) a half-hour off-duty meal break for each full five-hour period. Failure to provide these breaks results in a one-hour wage penalty under California's Eight-Hour Day Restoration and Workplace Flexibility Act of 1999. But apart from these basic requirements, employers received little guidance on whether employees must take breaks or whether breaks need only be offered to them. This has led to thousands of multi-million-dollar class actions in the past decade.

In a dramatic turn of events, the Fourth District Court of Appeal stopped a class action seeking penalties and unpaid wages for - among other things - failure to provide meal and rest breaks. Brinker Restaurant Corp. v. Superior Court, Cal.App. 4 Dist. (July 22, 2008). The three-judge panel reversed a trial-court judge, holding that it misinterpreted employers' obligation to provide employee breaks.

The appellate court ruled that employers need only "provide, not ensure" rest and meal periods. In other words, while management must allow breaks and not interfere with employees' rights, it is not required to police employees or force them to take breaks. Breaks may also be scheduled at any time during the four- and five-hour periods, not rigidly in the middle of a shift, if staggering breaks or allowing early lunches is more practical. This is critical to industries such as hospitality and health care, where employees simply will not or cannot take breaks all at one time or during busy periods.

The court's opinion contains several other important points and will eliminate many current class actions. It is binding on all state trial courts and can only be reversed by the California Supreme Court.

Employers should immediately review their policies and management practices to ensure that (1) employees are informed of their right to breaks and when they are entitled to take them, (2) supervisors are trained not to discourage or interfere with that right (except for scheduling breaks at appropriate times), and (3) employees are told to inform management immediately if they are unable to take breaks as required by law. These steps will help avoid liability, and class actions, no matter how the legal landscape develops.

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