California Appeals Court Approves Advance Meal Period Waivers

A California appeals court affirmed that employees may make written waivers in advance for workdays of 6 hours or less, as long as the waiver is knowing and voluntary and can be revoked at any time without retaliation. This decision welcomes confirmation of the advance written meal period waiver practice, but employers should heed the court’s warning about potential pitfalls.

Meal Period Refresher

As a refresher, California law requires employers to provide a 30-minute, off-duty and unpaid meal period for employees who work more than five hours in a day and a second 30-minute off-duty and unpaid meal period when they work more than 10 hours. Employers owe an extra hour of pay at the employee’s regular rate for any day the employer does not provide all required meal periods.

However, California law allows employees to waive a meal period in the following circumstances: if the employee’s total work per day is no more than six hours, the employee may waive their meal period with the agreement of the employer. If the total work for the day is no more than 12 hours, the employee may waive the second meal period with the employer’s agreement, as long as the employee took their first meal period.

The Bradsbery Case: A Written Advance Waiver With No Evidence of Coercion Passes Muster

In Bradsbery v. Vicar Operating, Inc. (2nd Appellate District, Case No. B322799), the plaintiffs sued their employer for meal period premiums.  Both had signed written meal period waivers at the beginning of their employment.  The waivers stated:

I hereby voluntarily waive my right to a meal break when my shift is 6 hours or less. I understand that I am entitled to take an unpaid 30-minute meal break within my first five hours of work; however, I am voluntarily waiving that meal break. I understand that I can revoke this waiver at any time by giving written revocation to my manager.

The employees argued that the court should not enforce the waivers because they were signed before the workday was scheduled. According to plaintiffs, advance waivers do not protect employees, only favor the employer, and “eviscerate” employee meal break protections.

The trial court sided with the employer, and the appeals court agreed, holding that the advance, revocable written waivers plaintiffs signed were enforceable “in the absence of any evidence the waivers are unconscionable or unduly coercive.”

A Couple Of Caveats

The Bradsbery decision is great news, but employers should take note of a couple of important caveats.

In reaching its decision, the court found that there was no evidence the waivers were unconscionable or unduly coercive. The court stated it would have serious reservations about a waiver if presented with evidence that the employee signed the waiver unknowingly or under coercion by the employer, or if the employee could not exercise the right to revoke the waiver freely.

It is also important to note that the court’s decision is limited to written waivers.  The court expressly declined to consider or decide whether prospective oral waivers of meal periods are permitted.

Employer Takeaways

The Bradsbery decision confirms that written advance meal period waivers for workdays between 5 and 6 hours can be enforceable. However, the court’s decision makes clear that getting the written waiver on file is not the end of the story.  Employers should make sure waivers are in writing, clearly explained to employees, and that employees’ rights to choose not to sign or to revoke at any time without retaliation are respected.

Have questions about meal break waivers or wage and hour practices in general?  Check out our membership options to join online now, or give us a call, and we'll walk you through how we can support your business and bring you peace of mind.