Proposed Meal Break Legislation to Be Heard by California Senate
By John Anthony
On June 25, 2008, The California State Senate Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations will hold hearings on Assembly Bill 1711. Assembly Bill 1711 proposes a number of changes to sections of the California Labor Code regulating, among other rules, the meal break requirements imposed on the state’s employers as part of AB 1711. Some of the bill's more important provisions are summarized below.
Meal Break Timing and On Duty Meal Periods
The proposed legislation requires that the meal period shall be completed before the end of the sixth hour of work. The current interpretation is that the meal period must be commenced before the end of the fifth hour, so this bill would provide greater flexibility in the scheduling of meal breaks if enacted.
The bill also contains significant modifications to Labor Code section 512(b), regulating provision of an on-duty meal period. Current regulations are vague about when an on-duty meal period is permitted. The proposed amendments clarify that on-duty meal periods are permissible when the “nature of the work” prevents an employee from being relieved of all duties, namely when the employee works alone, or “is the only person in his or her job classification who is on duty and there are no other employees who can reasonably relieve him or her of all duties.” Another condition is when the work requires a licensed employee, and the employee in question is the only licensed person on duty. These proposed changes clarify when an on duty meal period would be permitted, but do not expand such meal periods in a way likely to be useful for most employers.
Collective Bargaining Agreements
Under the proposed changes, the meal period requirements of Labor Code section 512 will not apply to employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement if the agreement expressly provides for meal periods and provides final and binding arbitration of disputes concerning application of its meal period provisions. This would lead to much greater flexibility for unions and employers to negotiate their own meal and rest period provisions, and would likely be very helpful to unionized employers and their employees.
What Next?
At some point after the scheduled hearing, the Senate Committee will vote on whether the bill should be sent to the Senate floor for a vote. If the bill is passed by the Senate without amendment, the bill will be sent to Governor Schwarzenegger for his signature to become law. If the bill is amended by the Senate, it will be sent back to the Assembly and if the Assembly concurs with any amendments, the bill will likewise be sent to the Governor. We will continue to follow the progress of this bill.