In a sweet ruling for employers, a California court of appeal affirmed a trial court’s denial of class certification of a meal break claim due to employee timekeeping records. This decision, Salazar v. See’s Candy Shops Inc., is noteworthy, as it explains how employee timekeeping records can be used to defeat class certification following the California Supreme Court’s recent ruling that employee timekeeping records can establish a rebuttable presumption in favor of class certification.
The Claim
At issue in this case was whether the trial court properly denied class certification of a claim that the employer was not providing employees second meal breaks. Under California law, an employee is entitled to a second 30-minute meal period for shifts longer than 10 hours (absent a valid waiver). The plaintiff claimed that employees were provided a work schedule form that listed the times employees should take their two 10-minute rest periods and their first 30-minute meal period but that the schedule form did not contain any information about a second meal period. The plaintiff argued the schedule form’s failure to include a second meal period evinced a common policy of not providing second meal periods. Continue Reading
In a case that it characterized as one of first impression in the federal courts of appeals, the Seventh Circuit held last week that the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, 38 U.S.C. § 4301 et seq. (“USERRA”), may, in some circumstances, require employers to provide paid leave to employees absent from work due to military service. 
In a case involving two certified classes, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals concluded this week that an employer’s per diem paid to traveling employees to reimburse for the cost of meals, incidentals and housing while working away from home can constitute a “wage.” 