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Employment Law Ruling – ‘On-Call’ Rest Breaks Permissible in California

February 16, 2015 by

A California Court of Appeal recently held that employers are not required to relieve their employees of all duties during paid rest breaks.  (Augustus v. ABM Security Services, Inc., 14 C.D.O.S. 1123 (January 30, 2015).)  California law requires employers to provide non-exempt employees with a paid 10-minute rest break for shifts from three and one-half hours to six hours in length (and a second break for shifts of more than six hours up to 10 hours, and a third break for shifts of more than 10 hours up to 14 hours).  Rest breaks are defined as paid time during which the employee cannot be required to work.  You can find more information and some FAQs for employees and employers at the California Department of Industrial Relations website.   Unlike meal breaks which are stipulated as clearly unpaid, under the Court’s recent ruling an employer can require its employees to remain ‘on-call’ (i.e. available to work) during paid rest breaks which seems to us at the law firm of Beeson, Tayer and Bodine (BT&B) to skirt the definition of “not required to work.”

The plaintiffs in the case worked as building security guards.  The employer’s policy required the guards to remain on-call while they took their rest breaks so that they could respond to calls in case of emergencies.  The employer permitted the guards to engage in various non-work activities during their breaks, such as making personal phone calls, however they were not relieved of all work duties because they were expected to carry their radios with them and respond if called.

California law expressly states that an employer shall not require an employee to work during breaks, however the Court of Appeal reasoned that being on-call does not constitute performing “work” for purposes of rest breaks because remaining available to work is not the same thing as actually working.  Thus, only in the situation where a security guard is required to respond to a call while taking a break would there be a potential violation of the no-work requirement.

The ruling here is limited to rest breaks.  The court noted that while the law only forbids an employer from requiring an employee to “work” during a rest break, the law requires employees to be “relieved of all duties” during meal breaks.

If you have questions about whether your employer is providing rest breaks consistent with your rights under California law, contact BT&B.  We are available to evaluate your situation related to California employment law in areas such as breaks, overtime, job classification and the Family Medical Leave Act where statutes and case law are becoming increasingly complex.

Oakland: 510.625.9700

Sacramento: 916.325.2100

The material on this website is provided by Beeson, Tayer & Bodine for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Readers should consult with their own legal counsel before acting on any of the information presented. Some of the articles are updated periodically, and are marked with the date of the last update. Again, readers should consult with their own legal counsel for the most current information and to obtain professional advice before acting on any of the information presented.