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Meal & Rest Periods – California Labor Law May Hold Employers Liable for Additional Hours of Pay

Guest post by: Ari Rosenstein

Article Overview: Meal and rest break labor laws in California have recently been receiving a wide deal of coverage in the media following several high-profile cases. California employers must be diligent in their compliance with the law.

Meal & Rest Periods – California Labor Law May Hold Employers Liable for Additional Hours of Pay

California labor law, under the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE), requires employers to provide meal and rest breaks to their employees (Federal law does not require it). Title 8 of the California Code of Regulations outlines the law. Section 11, Meal Periods, states (in part): 11. Meal Periods.

(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 ...

(B) If an employer fails to provide an employee a meal period in accordance with the applicable provisions of this order, the employer shall pay the employee one (1) hour of pay at the employee's regular rate of compensation for each workday that the meal period is not provided.

Section 12 defines Rest Periods:

12. Rest Periods.

(C) Every employer shall authorize and permit all employees to take rest periods, which insofar as practicable shall be in the middle of each work period. The authorized rest period time shall be based on the total hours worked daily at the rate of ten (10) minutes net rest time per four (4) hours or major fraction thereof. However, a rest period need not be authorized for employees whose total daily work time is less than three and one-half hours. Authorized rest period time shall be counted as hours worked for which there shall be no deduction from wages.

Meal and rest break labor laws in California have recently been receiving a wide deal of coverage in the media following several high-profile cases.

Marlo v. United Parcel Service, Inc

In May, 2009, 32 employees sued United Parcel Service (UPS) in Marlo v. United Parcel Service, Inc alleging they were not provided meal and rest breaks in accordance with California law. They sought compensation based on Labor Code section 226.7, which states:

(a) No employer shall require an employee to work during any meal or rest period mandated by an applicable order of the Industrial Welfare Commission.

(b) If an employer fails to provide an employee a meal period or rest period in accordance with an applicable order of the Industrial Welfare Commission, the employer shall pay the employee one additional hour of pay at the employee's regular rate of compensation for each work day that the meal or rest period is not provided.

UPS argued that section 226.7 allowed only one premium payment per day, while the plaintiffs argued that up to two premium payments were allowed per day. The trial court agreed with the plaintiffs. UPS thereafter filed a request for appellate review.

On February 16, 2011, in United Parcel Service, Inc. v. Superior Court, the California Court of Appeal held that Labor Code section 226.7 entitles employees to recover up to two additional hours of pay for meal period and rest period violations on a single work day, one for failure to provide a meal period and another for failure to authorize and permit a rest period.

What This Means To Employers

Labor law in California can be tricky! Because the court held that section 226.7 permits the recovery of up to two additional hours of pay per work day for missed meal and rest breaks, it is essential that California employers remain vigilant in providing both meal and rest breaks. Otherwise employers may face double exposure in cases involving claims for both meal and rest break violations.

If you need assistance with managing California labor or employment law, please contact one of our California HR experts to help you.

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Article Tags: california labor law, employment law, labor law in california, meal periods, rest periods



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