It’s about time! Here in California, we have some of the most strict, and sometimes most dumb rules for employers. We are required to give breaks to hourly staff every 4 hours. (That is not the dumb part.) It has been common for employees to sue a company because they say this didn’t happen. I’ve seen over and over again, my small business clients (and myself when I had staff), state clearly that an employee is take a break but we the manager, don’t have time to babysit them and make sure this happened.
The California courts have been siding with the employee and recently this was the case in Brinker Restaurant Corp v. Superior Court. But a California Court of Appeal overturned the decision. They said an employer need only to provide, not ensure, rest periods are taken. (Ensure is the dumb part.) Finally…some common sense!! Let the employee take some responsibility! They also said that these types of suits must be considered on an employee by employee basis, and are not suitable for class actions suits.
Employers – DON’T make any changes yet though. As my source (the law offices of Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud & Romo) for this information says, employers in California should continue to enforce their meal and rest period policies, and record meal period start and stop times. Rest periods need only be “authorized and permitted” and need not be recorded. This entire suit could be overturned by the California Supreme Court.
But…it IS a step in the right direction for those of us who treat our employees justly and fair, which includes not having to babysit them.
Note- Now don’t get on me…I know there is a huge difference when you work retail or in a restaurant and breaks need to be scheduled for the flow to continue, as opposed to an office. But the rules are the same!
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