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Business – CA Supreme Court Weighs in on Breaks

On Behalf of | Jan 10, 2017 | Business Law |

Business is subject to not only the statutes passed by the California Legislature, along with the administrative regulations promulgated to further carry out the statute’s “purpose” but also rulings from the California Courts related to statutes and regulations.

On December 22, 2016, the California Supreme Court ruled that “employers must relieve their employees of all duties and relinquish any control over how employees spend” their legally required break time.  Augustus v. ABM Security Services, Inc., No S224853, Supreme Court of California (December 22, 2016).

The ruling means that an employer cannot require an employee to be “on-call” during the legally mandated rest break.  “On-call” includes the prohibition against use of pagers, cell phones or other similar devices.  There are no exceptions to the “No On-Duty, No On-Call” rest breaks.  

This decision also applies to legally mandated meal breaks.  In very narrow circumstances, a meal break may be exempted from the “No On-Duty, No On-Call” rest breaks.

For assistance with the management and operation of your Business and Business Planning, Ariel Bedell, at the Firm, is available.