California Employment Law Refresher: Meal Periods, Rest Periods, and Premiums (Part 3)
Labor Code section 226.7 sets forth an employer’s obligation to make premium payments for the failure to provide meal periods or authorize and permit rest and recovery periods. Court decisions interpreting this section and other provisions of the Labor Code have defined the manner in which that premium payment is calculated, the statute of limitations for asserting such claims, and whether premium payments trigger other penalties.
California Employment Law Refresher: Meal Periods, Rest Periods, and Premiums (Part 1)
Nearly two decades after the California Supreme Court concluded that meal and rest period premiums constitute wages or premium pay governed by a three-year statute of limitations rather than the one-year statute of limitations governing penalties, meal and rest period claims continue to be a fixture in California employment litigation. Subsequent cases further refined the scope of these claims, dictating, among other things, the way in which premium pay is calculated, whether meal periods can be rounded, how rest periods are compensated for employees earning piece rate wages, and whether unpaid premiums trigger derivative penalties. This week’s legal update provides a refresher regarding employers’ meal period obligations.