California Labor & Employment Law Blog

By Marie D. DiSante and Conner J. Moyle

On April 16, 2008, we posted information regarding Senate Bill 1539, which expressed the legislative intent to clarify the requirements of California law as they relate to employee meal periods.  See April 16, 2008 Blog Post.  Since that time, many clients and friends of the firm have requested that we prepare a sample letter that they may send to various legislative representatives showing their support for additional clarity and flexibility in the meal period rules.  We have prepared such a sample, and you may access the sample letter by clicking here.  We encourage you to modify the letter as necessary so that it reflects your own particular beliefs about the manner in which the meal period rules should be clarified or changed.

Please note that SB 1539 originally was sent to the Senate Appropriations Committee for further action.  Since that time, SB 1539 has been withdrawn from hearing before the Senate Appropriations Committee and re-referred to the Rules Committee.  See http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/07-08/bill/sen/sb_1501-1550/sb_1539_bill_20080421_history.html.  The Rules Committee most likely will refer the bill back out to an appropriate policy committee prior to further substantive action.  Because the bill is not yet sitting before a particular policy committee for substantive action, we recommend sending letters in support of SB 1539 either to the Rules Committee or to the State Senator and/or Assemblyperson for the geographic area in which your business is located.  As an alternative, once the bill makes its way to a particular policy committee for substantive action, letters may be sent directly to that committee.  We will keep you posted on further developments in connection with SB 1539.

For more information on how you can get involved in helping to ensure that the legislature makes appropriate changes to California's meal period regulations, please contact Marie DiSante or Connor Moyle