Prospective Meal Period Waivers are Enforceable

A new decision from the California Court of Appeals in Bradsbery v. Vicar Operating, Inc. confirms that an employee can prospectively waive a future meal period for a shift that does not exceed 6 hours so long as the prospective waiver is in writing, uncoerced, and revocable.

Under California law, non-exempt employees must receive a 30-minute off-duty meal period after 5 hours of work (and a second meal period after 10 hours of work). Both the Labor Code and the Wage Orders allow the first meal period to be waived if the employee’s shift does not exceed 6 hours and both the employee and employer consent to waiving it. What was unclear until now was whether that consent could be given ahead of time, rather than on a shift-by-shift basis.

In this case, the plaintiffs had signed a waiver at the start of their employment that remained in effect unless revoked. They later sued, claiming Vicar had failed to provide them with the meal periods required under California state law and that the prospective waivers denied employees a meaningful opportunity to exercise their right to meal periods. The court disagreed. It found the waiver enforceable because the employees were not coerced, the agreement was clear, and the employees had the option to revoke the waiver at any time.

This ruling provides helpful guidance for employers. Revocable, prospective waivers of meal periods for shifts between five and six hours that are signed by the employee “are enforceable in the absence of any evidence the waivers are unconscionable or unduly coercive.” Employers should still be careful to ensure employees understand their rights, in particular that they may revoke the waiver at any time, and that they are not pressured into waiving meal periods.

If you have questions about your company’s meal period policies or need help drafting compliant waiver agreements, feel free to reach out.

You can read Bradsbery v. Vicar Operating, Inc. here: