Meal And Rest Breaks: The Brinker Wait Is Over

Ever since the California Supreme Court granted review in Brinker Restaurant Corp. v. Superior Court of San Diego County (Hohnbaum) in October 2008, California employers have anxiously awaited the California Supreme Court's standards for meal and rest breaks provided to non-exempt employees. The Court has now spoken definitively on the following issues:

Meal Periods – Provide, Not Ensure: The Court concluded that "an employer's obligation is to relieve its employee of all duty, with the employee thereafter at liberty to use the meal period for whatever purpose he or she desires, but the employer need not ensure that no work is done." The Court added that "the employer is not obligated to police meal breaks and ensure no work thereafter is performed." The Court emphasized the need for flexibility from industry to industry, and noted that, while an employee may not capitalize on premium pay by intentionally working through provided breaks, neither may an employer