In late 2016, the California Supreme Court in Augustus v. ABM Security Services, Inc. published a decision which held that on-duty and on-call rest periods are not permissible under state law – establishing that employers must treat employee rest periods and meal periods similarly.
To recap, in Augustus, the Plaintiff and other similarly situated individuals worked as security guards for ABM Security Services, Inc. ("ABM"). As a condition of employment, ABM guards were required to keep their radios and pagers on, remain vigilant, and respond to emergencies at all times – including during rest periods. Plaintiffs filed a class action against ABM alleging that it failed to provide guards with uninterrupted, 10-minute rest periods as required under California law. The California Supreme Court granted review of this decision and held that employers must "relinquish any control over how employees spend their [rest] break time, and relieve their employees of all duties – including the obligation that an employee remain on call."
The breadth of this decision on rest periods has been unclear. One common question after Augustus is whether employers may require employees to remain on premises during rest periods. Recently, the California Department of Labor Standards Enforcement ("DLSE") provided guidance as to the restrictions and implications of Augustus. The DLSE makes clear that employers cannot impose any restraints on employees that are not inherent in the rest period requirement itself. Specifically, employers are prohibited from requiring an employee to stay on the work premises during a rest period, or from requiring employees to keep in radio communication during a rest period. As the DLSE has now made clear, the Augustus decision will be interpreted broadly and, as such, employers must relinquish any control over employees during rest periods. See DLSE Frequently Asked Questions here.
Following Augustus, it is imperative for employers to relinquish all control over how employees spend their break time, and relieve their employees of all duties – including an obligation to stay on the work premises or keep in radio communication. Your Lewis Brisbois employment attorney is available to assist with updating your rest period policies and practices to reflect this development in California wage and hour law.
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