Alert: California Supreme Court Extends Liability For Missed Meal Breaks
April 17, 2007
On Monday, April 16, 2007, the California Supreme Court ruled that employees may recover for meal breaks missed as far back as three years before filing suit. In Murphy v. Kenneth Cole Productions, Inc., 07 CDOS 3958, the Court found that the award of one hour's pay for each missed meal break constituted a wage payment, implicating a three year statute of limitations. The Court rejected arguments that the award was a penalty subject to a one year limitations period.
Murphy had been a store manager for the clothing retailer. The trial court found that he was not exempt from overtime because he had spent most of his time performing sales, stocking and clerical duties, rather than supervising others. Murphy had undisputedly only taken a half-hour off-duty lunch approximately once every two weeks. California law requires that he be provided a half-hour lunch break each day that he worked over five hours. That requirement may only be waived for shifts between five and six hours, or in narrow circumstances where inherently required by job duties. California law also requires that the meal break be recorded on timesheets, and the burden is on the employer to prove the breaks were taken. California law awards one hour of pay for each missed off duty meal break.
The Murphy decision will likely accelerate the number of class action claims alleging missed meal breaks. With an undisputed three-year statute of limitations, the cost of losing such litigation can be substantial. The California Labor Commissioner has promulgated draft regulations eliminating liability for good faith compliance efforts - but it appears unlikely those proposed regulations will be adopted.
Thus, employers should regularly audit employee timecards to assure that meal breaks are being taken and recorded. Any employees failing to record breaks should be counseled and assured that they must take a daily 30 minute off-duty lunch each full time shift.