Court of Appeals Holds that California Employers Need Only Provide Meal and Rest Breaks Not Ensure that Employees Take Them

California Employment Law Update

The plaintiffs, hourly employees of several Brinker-owned restaurants in California, filed a class action against the restaurant chain, alleging rest break violations, meal break and “early lunching” violations, as well as uncompensated off-the-clock work and “time shaving” violations (when managers “shave” time by adjusting employee payroll records to reflect shits of lest than five hours).  The trial court certified a class of nearly 60,000 employees, finding that the issues were common to all class members and could be litigated collectively.