California Working Hours and Schedule

The Working Hours and Schedule provisions in the California Handbook have been updated. These revisions were prompted by the California legal climate two years after the 2012 decision in Brinker Restaurant Corp. v. Superior Court and the experiences of our legal advisors regarding developing policies and defending claims.

In addition, the content behind the “Explain this to me” tab has been updated and contains information pertinent to the provision and to employers. For example:

• The California Wage Orders require that employers maintain accurate time records of when non-exempt employees begin and end each work period, including meal periods.  Employers may want to consider also requiring non-exempt employees to record rest breaks.
• All employers should carefully review the California Wage Order which applies to them for any exceptions to the general rest break and meal period rules.
• California’s rest break requirements also provide that each day a non-exempt employee is not provided with a required rest break, the employee is entitled to receive premium pay equivalent to one hour of the employee’s regular rate of compensation.

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