The California Labor Code requires employers to "provide" meal breaks when employees work over five hours. A dispute over the meaning of "provide" is currently being considered by the California Supreme Court.
Must an employer ensure employees take their breaks (force them to stop working) or must it simply authorize and permit employees to take the time off?
This litigation — the Brinker case — has been in the appellate courts since 2007 (see CA's 5-Hour Meal Rule Explained and our 2008 story CA Break Rules Explained Redux).
Three years later (November 2011), the state Supreme Court heard oral argument. A decision is expected by February 2012.
For more coverage, see the LA Times story.
I having been waiting ages for Brinker to be decided. Blog are discussing this left and right. I read http://www.caliemployment.com/ a while back, which discussed it. This case just needs to be decided..
ReplyDelete