News & Analysis as of

Wage and Hour Rest and Meal Break Appeals

Amundsen Davis LLC

California Court Affirms Employers Can Use Standing Meal Period Waiver for Employees Working Six Hours or Less

Amundsen Davis LLC on

On April 21, 2025, a California Court of Appeal held employees working six hours or less in a single workday can prospectively waive their mandatory meal periods. The ruling provided clarification on a long-standing question:...more

Weintraub Tobin

Are Prospective Meal Period Waivers Enforceable? YES – If Done Properly

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California Labor Code section 512 guarantees a thirty (30) minute, off-duty, meal period for employees after five (5) work hours, and a second thirty (30) minute, off duty, meal period after ten (10) work hours. Section 512...more

Ervin Cohen & Jessup LLP

Good News for Employers: Court Upholds Prospective Meal Break Waivers for Short Shifts

In the recent decision of Bradsbery v. Vicar Operating, Inc., a California appellate court addressed the enforceability of prospective written meal period waivers for employees working shifts between five and six hours. ...more

Epstein Becker & Green

California Court of Appeal Holds That Prospective Meal Waivers for Shifts Between Five and Six Hours are Enforceable

In a surprisingly employer-friendly decision, the California Court of Appeal recently held that voluntary, prospective written meal waivers for shorter shifts, i.e., those that are more than five but no more than six hours in...more

Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth

Employers Catch a Break: California Court of Appeal Approves Prospective Meal Period Waivers

On April 21, 2025, the California Court of Appeal issued an opinion validating written, prospective meal period waivers for non-exempt employees. The decision in La Kimba Bradsbery v. Vicar Operating, Inc. provides employers...more

ArentFox Schiff

Prospective Written Meal Period Waivers Survive, California Court Affirms Enforceability

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The California Court of Appeal recently issued a significant decision affirming that employers and employees may mutually agree, in writing, to prospectively waive the employee’s meal period for shifts between five and six...more

Stoel Rives - World of Employment

California Court of Appeal Confirms the Legality of Prospective Meal Period Waivers

In Bradsbery v. Vicar Operating, Inc., a California Court of Appeal answered a question that many California employers may not have known even needed to be answered—whether California employees can prospectively waive their...more

Davis Wright Tremaine LLP

An Important Win for Employers in California: Meal Period Waivers

For over a decade, many California employers have issued written meal period waivers that permit employees to voluntarily agree to prospectively waive 30-minute meal periods throughout their employment and under certain...more

CDF Labor Law LLP

Cal. Court of Appeal Affirms Validity of Prospective Meal Break Waivers

CDF Labor Law LLP on

On April 21, 2025, a California Court of Appeal affirmed the validity of prospective, written meal period waivers, so long as they are revocable and not coerced. The case, La Kimba Bradsbery et al. v. Vicar Operating,...more

Clark Hill PLC

In win for employers, the California Court of Appeal ruled prospective meal break waivers can be permissible

Clark Hill PLC on

What is a “blanket” or “prospective” meal period waiver? California employers can offer non-exempt employees the opportunity to (1) waive their first meal period if their work period does not exceed six hours or (2) waive...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

California Court of Appeal Rules Prospective Meal Waivers Are Enforceable

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The California Labor Code generally requires that employers provide meal periods to non-exempt employees working more than five hours. However, the Labor Code provides that meal periods can be waived by agreement of the...more

Payne & Fears

Prospective Written Meal Period Waivers Can Be Enforced in California Says the California Court of Appeal

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Employers in California often offer employees the ability to sign “meal period waivers,” usually at onboarding. These written waivers reflect the employee’s agreement, on a going-forward basis, to waive their first meal...more

Fox Rothschild LLP

California Court Rules in Favor of Prospective Meal Period Waivers for Employers

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In a significant ruling for employers, the California Court of Appeal has validated the use of “prospective” meal period waivers, allowing workers to voluntarily waive their meal breaks in advance, under certain conditions....more

Perkins Coie

Washington Supreme Court Denies Appeal of Meal Period Penalty Case

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In October 2024 we wrote about the Washington State Court of Appeals’ opinion in Androckitis v. Virginia Mason Medical Center, which held that the remedy for meal period violations includes three components: (1) payment of...more

Perkins Coie

New Washington Ruling Endorses 30-Minute Penalty for Meal Period Violations

Perkins Coie on

In Androckitis v. Virginia Mason Medical Center, the Washington State Court of Appeals recently held that the remedy for meal period violations includes three components: (1) payment of time worked during the meal period;...more

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP

California Supreme Court Confirms the “Knowing and Intentional” Standard of California’s Wage Statement Law Requires a “Knowing...

In Naranjo v. Spectrum Security Services, the case’s second appearance before the California Supreme Court in two years, the Supreme Court confirmed that an employer does not incur civil penalties for failing to report unpaid...more

ArentFox Schiff

Gramajo v. Joe’s Pizza: California Plaintiffs Winning Wage or Overtime Claims Must Receive Some Attorney Fees

ArentFox Schiff on

In Gramajo v. Joe’s Pizza on Sunset, Inc., Case Nos. B322992/B323024 (Cal. App. Mar. 25, 2024), the California Court of Appeal held that employees who win in court on a claim for minimum or overtime wages must be awarded at...more

ArentFox Schiff

Good Faith Defense Defeats Penalties on California Break Issues

ArentFox Schiff on

Last year, in Naranjo v. Spectrum Security Services, Inc., 13 Cal.5th 93 (2022), the California Supreme Court held that an employer’s failure to timely pay premium pay for meal and rest break violations could subject the...more

Foley & Lardner LLP

Wisconsin Employers Don’t Owe Employees Who Voluntarily Cut Their Meal Breaks Short

Foley & Lardner LLP on

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit recently affirmed that Wisconsin wage and hour law does not permit employees to game the system with respect to full and free meal breaks. Wisconsin, like many other...more

Proskauer - California Employment Law

January 2023 California Employment Law Notes

Age/National Origin Case Was Properly Dismissed Despite “Direct Evidence” Of Discriminatory Animus - Opara v. Yellin, 57 F.4th 709 (9th Cir. 2023) - Joan Opara was terminated from her employment as an IRS revenue...more

Payne & Fears

Key California Employment Law Case Summaries: September, October, and November 2022

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Summary - Where an employer can and does track the exact time in minutes that its employees work each shift, and those records show that employees were not paid for all the time they worked, neutral time rounding is not a...more

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

California Appellate Court Affirms Attorneys’ Fees for Meal and Rest Break Claims

​​​​​​​On September 12, 2022, the California Court of Appeal held that employees bringing successful rest break and meal period claims are entitled to recover attorneys’ fees under California Labor Code section 218.5. The...more

Jones Day

California Supreme Court Authorizes Additional Remedies for Meal Break Violations: Waiting Time and Wage Statement Penalties Now...

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The California Supreme Court sides with employees in Naranjo v. Spectrum Security Services, finding derivative claims available for waiting time and pay stub penalties available for meal and rest break violations. This...more

Proskauer - California Employment Law

California Supreme Court Rules Meal and Rest Break Premiums Constitute “Wages” Potentially Triggering Penalties for Violations

In a much anticipated ruling, on May 23, 2022, the California Supreme Court issued its decision in Naranjo et al. v. Spectrum Security Services, Inc. Previously, the Court of Appeal held that unpaid premium payments for meal...more

Proskauer - California Employment Law

Volunteers May Work For Nonprofits Without Compensation

The California Court of Appeal has definitively resolved an issue that was until now somewhat ambiguous: Can volunteers in fact volunteer their time for nonprofit organizations without receiving pay or other forms of...more

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