If you thought the generally employer-friendly Brinker decision meant we won’t be seeing large financial awards in meal and rest break lawsuits, think again.
A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge ordered a security services firm to pay nearly $90 million in an employment lawsuit brought by 15,000 security guards, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The lawsuit alleged that the guards were denied off-duty rest breaks and were required to remain on call during their breaks. In the ruling, Judge John Wiley said: “Put simply, if you are on call, you are not on break. That has been the law for many years.”
Though the Brinker decision gave employers much needed guidance in the area of meal and rest breaks, California law still poses significant risks.
Tags: Brinker case, meal and rest breaks, HR Allen Consulting Services, HR Informant
Yesterday, HRWatchdog gave a brief summary of the California Supreme Court’s decision in Brinker Restaurant Corp. v. Superior Court, relating to meal and rest breaks.
Tags: rest breaks, Brinker case, meal breaks, Restaurant Corp. v. Superior Court, HR Allen Consulting Services, HR Informant, California employers
Today, the California Supreme Court finally released its long-awaited decision in the Brinker Restaurant Corp. v. Superior Court case. The Brinker case is extremely important to all California employers because it involves employers’ obligations relating to meal and rest breaks.
The most critical part of the unanimous ruling is that employers do not have to ensure that employees take their meal breaks, but must merely make them available. The court also provided flexibility to employers with regard to the timing of meal and rest breaks.
According to the court:
Tags: rest breaks, Brinker case, meal breaks, Brinker, Brinker v Superior Court, ensure, provide, HR Allen Consulting Services