Superior Court, employers must provide meal breaks, relieve employees of their duties during those periods and be sure not to interfere with workers' ability to take breaks.
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Under the California Supreme Court decision in Brinker Restaurant Corp. Rest breaks must be taken near the middle of a four-hour work period, and meal breaks must be taken before the end of the fifth hour of a shift. California law also dictates at what point in the shift the breaks must be taken. In certain circumstances, an employee may be permitted to have an "on-duty" meal period, but the time must be paid at the worker's regular rate of pay.
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Employees can waive their right to take a meal break but only if they work no more than six hours. In California, workers are entitled to a 10-minute paid rest break for every four hours worked "or major fraction thereof" and a 30-minute unpaid meal break for every five hours they work. Furthermore, employers could face class-action lawsuits for past practices if they didn't have formal policies. For example, if the state high court finds that an employer may not simply post the applicable wage order to notify employees of their meal and rest period rights, certain employers will need to change their practices and adopt a formal written policy. The California Supreme Court's answers to the questions presented by the 9th Circuit could have a huge impact upon employers in the state. The 9th Circuit noted that the California Supreme Court has not directly addressed "whether the absence of a policy providing for meal and rest breaks constitutes a violation of California labor law." The plaintiff argued that California law requires employers to adopt a policy authorizing meal breaks, and that the defendant didn't have such a policy or record meal breaks on its payroll statements. He also argued that the company had no written policy for meal breaks and didn't schedule his breaks or take any action to relieve him from all duty.
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The plaintiff acknowledged that the company didn't prohibit him from taking breaks, but said he was sometimes unable to take breaks because he needed to "keep the wheels rolling" to make his deliveries on time. California's meal and rest break rules were posted on a bulletin board at the terminal in the drivers' lounge and where orientations were conducted.
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The employer said drivers could take breaks whenever they needed to eat, use the restroom, do laundry or make personal calls.
RAIHAN ZAMIL DRIVER
CRST Van Expedited, Inc., a truck driver filed a class-action complaint against a transportation company alleging that drivers were required to work through meal and rest breaks in violation of California law. Here are SHRM OnlineĀ resources and news articles from other trusted media outlets. We've rounded up the latest news on this topic.
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So a federal appeals court asked the California Supreme Court to weigh in on the issue. Employers are not required to police those breaks or ensure that employees refrain from working, but the law isn't clear on whether employers are required to have formal policies about breaks. Under California law, businesses must provide employees with meal and rest breaks and relieve them of all duty during those times.