On January 26, 2011, the California Supreme Court created more uncertainty regarding meal and rest period obligations in California by granting review of the Court of Appeal’s published decision in Hernandez v. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. As we discussed more fully on November 5, 2010, in Hernandez, the Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court’s ruling that an employer need only make meal periods available to employees, and affirmed the denial of class certification, holding that individual issues predominated over common issues as some employees received both meal and rest breaks, some missed only rest breaks, some missed only meal breaks, some missed both, and even the named plaintiff admitted that the ability to take breaks depended on the location where he worked.

With the grant of review and depublication of Hernandez, employers are once again left to read the tea leaves while waiting for the California Supreme Court to decide Brinker Restaurant Corporation v. Superior Court. In October 2010, the Court granted review in Faulkinbury v. Boyd & Assocs., which had affirmed an employer’s duty to make meal periods available, but held that certification was improper in that case. In May 2010, the Court let stand the published decision in Jaimez v. Daiohs, which affirmed the lower court’s rulings that meal periods must be made available, and that in certain cases, certification of such claims is proper.

Oral argument has not been scheduled yet in Brinker.

This entry was written by Erica H. Kelley.

Photo credit: shirhan