Rest and Meal Break, California, Waivers

An Important Win for Employers in California: Meal Period Waivers

Davis Wright Tremaine LLP on 4/28/2025

For over a decade, many California employers have issued written meal period waivers that permit employees to voluntarily agree to prospectively waive 30-minute meal periods throughout their employment and under certain...more

California Court of Appeal Rules Prospective Meal Waivers Are Enforceable

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on 4/24/2025

The California Labor Code generally requires that employers provide meal periods to non-exempt employees working more than five hours. However, the Labor Code provides that meal periods can be waived by agreement of the...more

Prospective Written Meal Period Waivers Can Be Enforced in California Says the California Court of Appeal

Payne & Fears on 4/22/2025

Employers in California often offer employees the ability to sign “meal period waivers,” usually at onboarding. These written waivers reflect the employee’s agreement, on a going-forward basis, to waive their first meal...more

Waiver Goodbye – Continued FMCSA Preemption Of Meal And Rest Periods For California and Washington Drivers

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on 4/4/2025

In 2023, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (“FMCSA”) under the Biden administration started accepting public comments about the many petitions for waiver that key stakeholders, including the California Attorney...more

California Attorney General Steps In To Petition FMCSA For Waiver Of Meal And Rest Period Preemption Determination On Behalf Of...

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on 11/17/2023

Seyfarth Synopsis: In August, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (“FMCSA”) announced that it would start accepting petitions for waivers from the recent decisions preempting California and Washington’s meal and...more

Federal Agency Gives Notice That It May Reverse Course on Its Own Preemption Determination for California and Washington Meal and...

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on 8/22/2023

Seyfarth Synopsis: The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration determined only a few years ago that federal law preempts California’s and Washington’s meal and rest period rules. Regardless of what would happen in the...more

Does PAGA Have Wings? Bernstein’s Threat to Interstate Airlines (ALERT)

Cozen O'Connor on 5/17/2022

California’s Private Attorney’s General Act (“PAGA”) has created an extremely friendly litigation environment for employees in California. While the 2021 Ninth Circuit decision in Bernstein v. Virgin Am., Inc., 3 F.4th 1127...more

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