Cook Brown LLP

Let’s Keep the Workplace Working

Home > Test Your Knowledge > Test Your Knowledge – Meal and Rest Breaks

/

Test Your Knowledge – Meal and Rest Breaks

Does No Good Deed Go Unpunished?

The restaurant chain Taco Bell offered discounted meals to employees during their required 30-minute meal breaks with one requirement – that the meal be eaten on site to ensure that it was utilized by the employee only.

How did the court decide on a class action suit filed by employees?

  • Employees working a shift of two hours or more were offered the option to purchase one meal, before, during, or after their shift. To obtain the discount, employees had to place the order at the counter as guest and then, along with their manager, sign a receipt to be placed in the cash register. The meal had to be eaten on site.

    In a class action suit, employees claimed that the eat-in-the-restaurant requirement rendered the time compensable under California law because employees taking advantage of the discount were not provided a duty-free meal period during which they were free to use the time in any way they wished, including leaving the premises.

  • Enter your email if you'd like to receive Cook Brown's Updates.
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.