California Supreme Court to review meal and rest breaks case
The California Supreme Court has granted review in the Brinker Restaurant case relating to meal and rest breaks.
In July of this year, the business community realized a victory with the Fourth District Court of Appeal's decision in Brinker Restaurant Corporation v. Superior Court of San Francisco. CRA submitted an amicus brief in support of Brinker. The decision held that employers must make meal periods available to employees and cannot impede, discourage or dissuade employees from taking meal periods. However, once made available, the employer is not obligated to police the employee's use of that time by ensuring that the employee takes the meal period.
After this Court’s ruling, plaintiffs petitioned for review of the entire case. On October 22, 2008 the California Supreme Court granted review of the cited ruling mentioned above.
As a result, the Court of Appeal decision is no longer binding or citable. It cannot be predicted how the Supreme Court will ultimately rule and it is likely to be several months before briefs must be filed. While it is still appropriate to cite the favorable federal court decisions interpreting California law and they may be found persuasive, they are not binding on state courts.
For further information, please read the response from California's Department of Labor Standards Enforcement to the California Supreme Court's action. You may also read a legal summary of what specifically the California Supreme Court may be looking to address by hearing this case.
The CRA will continue to advocate for reform of the issue and will continue to assess the best policy approach and political viability for legislative reform in 2009, while, at the same, time being very aggressive in our efforts to achieve a favorable ruling from the California Supreme Court.
