Meal/Rest Breaks

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By: Clara L. Rademacher and Ryan McCoy

Seyfarth Synopsis: On December 26, 2023, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (“FMCSA”) announced they would be accepting comments from the public in response to multiple petitions requesting waivers from the agency’s determinations preempting California and Washington’s meal and rest break rules. This includes the opportunity to respond to the California Attorney…

Continue Reading FMCSA To Accept Public Comments In Response To Petitions Seeking Waiver Of Meal And Rest Period Preemption Determination On Behalf Of California And Washington Drivers

By: Noah Finkel and Kyle Petersen

Seyfarth Synopsis:  The DOL has issued guidance to its staff – that might be relied upon by courts – that any break less than 20 minutes while working from home is compensable time, regardless of the reason for the break.

Especially because this post is being released on a Friday, chances are that you…

Continue Reading Not Remotely Helpful: DOL Issues Guidance on Compensability of Teleworking Breaks

By: Joseph Hadacek and Josh Rodine

Seyfarth Synopsis: The California Supreme Court recently determined that meal and rest period premium payments are subject to the final pay timing requirements of Labor Code section 203 and the wage statement reporting requirements of Labor Code section 226(e). Additionally, the prejudgment interest rate for violating these sections is seven percent. Naranjo v. Spectrum …
Continue Reading California Supreme Court Finds Meal And Rest Premiums Subject To Wage Statement And Final Pay Requirements

By: Jeffrey A. Berman and Jennifer R. Nunez

Seyfarth Synopsis: An unpublished Ninth Circuit opinion has held that an employer need not pay employees for time spent undergoing government-required security checks en route to their worksite within the Los Angeles International Airport. Cazares v. Host International, Inc.

The Facts

Jesus Cazares, an attendant in the Admirals Club lounge at the…
Continue Reading How Much Time To Budget For Getting Through Security?

By: Jennifer R. Nunez and David D. Kadue

Seyfarth Synopsis: In Donohue v. AMN Services, LLC, a class action seeking meal period premium pay, the California Supreme Court reversed the Court of Appeal and held that employers cannot engage in the practice of rounding time punches in the meal period context, and that time records showing noncompliant meal periods raise

…
Continue Reading Is Rounding Now Out To Lunch?

By: Ryan McCoy

Seyfarth Synopsis: Following the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s determination in December 2018 that federal law preempts California’s meal and rest break rules, observers questioned whether California courts would find that the preemption was valid.  Shortly after the determination was issued, the State of California and several other groups appealed directly to the Ninth Circuit, arguing the …
Continue Reading Ninth Circuit Upholds FMCSA Preemption of California’s Meal and Rest Break Rules For Drivers

By: Brian A. Wadsworth and Andrew L. Scroggins

As COVID-19 cases surge again in the United States, state and local governments continue to recommend or require remote work arrangements, and some employers have already announced plans to permit remote work to continue well into 2021 and even beyond.

Remote work is not new, and many of its challenges such as…
Continue Reading As COVID-Driven Remote Work Arrangements Continue, Wage and Hour Compliance Challenges Grow

Authored by Kevin Young and Christina Meddin

Seyfarth Synopsis: Some states are known for setting high legislative bars with respect to employment rights and protections (looking at you, California). The State of Georgia isn’t one of them. Earlier this month, however, the Peach State broke its mold by enacting one of the most stringent lactation break laws in the country.…
Continue Reading Not a Typo: Georgia Enacts a Stringent Employment Law

Co-authored by Kristin McGurn and Kevin Young

Seyfarth Synopsis: At a time when the Massachusetts meal break landscape is increasingly friendly to employees, a federal judge in the state recently denied class certification in a meal break case, Romulus, et al. v. CVS Pharmacy, Inc. At issue were store policies, common in retail, that called for in-store key-holder coverage whenever …
Continue Reading Should I Stay or Should I Go Now: Federal Court Denies Class Certification to Supervisors Claiming In-Store Meal Breaks Violate Massachusetts Law

Authored by Kerry McCoy Friedrichs

Seyfarth Synopsis: In what many employers will see as a “break” from workplace reality, the Supreme Court, in Augustus v. ABM Security Services, Inc., announced that certain “on call” rest periods do not comply with the California Labor Code and Wage Orders. As previously reported on our California Peculiarities Employment Law Blog,…
Continue Reading No Break for California Employers This Holiday Season