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AB-2509 Employees: meal breaks.(2017-2018)

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Date Published: 03/16/2018 04:00 AM
AB2509:v98#DOCUMENT

Amended  IN  Assembly  March 15, 2018

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2017–2018 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 2509

Introduced by Assembly Member Waldron

February 14, 2018

An act to amend Section 2852 512 of the Labor Code, relating to employment.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 2509, as amended, Waldron. Employee obligations. Employees: meal breaks.
Existing law generally prohibits an employer from requiring an employee to work more than 5 hours per day without providing a meal period of not less than 30 minutes. Existing law excepts employees in specified occupations that meet certain conditions from this prohibition and authorizes the Industrial Welfare Commission to adopt a working condition order permitting a meal period to commence after 6 hours of work if the order is consistent with the health and welfare of affected employees. Existing law makes a violation of these provisions a misdemeanor.
This bill would authorize an employee to submit a written request to his or her employer to take an on-duty meal period in order to reduce the employee’s work shift by not less than 30 minutes, as specified. The bill would prohibit an employer from encouraging or soliciting an employee to request an on-duty meal period.
Because this bill would expand the definition of a crime, it would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Existing law provides that a power of attorney is a written instrument that grants power to another person, however denominated, to act for the principal. Existing law requires a gratuitous employee, who accepts a written power of attorney, to act under it so long as it remains in force or until notice is given to the employer that the employee will no longer do so.

This bill would make nonsubstantive changes to these provisions.

Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: NOYES   Local Program: NOYES  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 Section 512 of the Labor Code is amended to read:

512.
 (a) (1) An employer may not employ an employee for a work period of more than five hours per day without providing the employee with a meal period of not less than 30 minutes, except that if the total work period per day of the employee is no more than six hours, the meal period may be waived by mutual consent of both the employer and employee. An employer may not employ an employee for a work period of more than 10 hours per day without providing the employee with a second meal period of not less than 30 minutes, except that if the total hours worked is no more than 12 hours, the second meal period may be waived by mutual consent of the employer and the employee only if the first meal period was not waived.
(2) An employee may request in writing to take an on-duty meal period in order to reduce the employee’s work shift that day by not less than 30 minutes, as long as the total hours worked does not exceed eight hours and the employer approves. An employer is prohibited from encouraging or otherwise soliciting an employee to take an on-duty meal period pursuant to this section.
(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), the Industrial Welfare Commission may adopt a working condition order permitting a meal period to commence after six hours of work if the commission determines that the order is consistent with the health and welfare of the affected employees.
(c) Subdivision (a) does not apply to an employee in the wholesale baking industry who is subject to an Industrial Welfare Commission wage order and who is covered by a valid collective bargaining agreement that provides for a 35-hour workweek consisting of five 7-hour days, payment of one and one-half times the regular rate of pay for time worked in excess of seven hours per day, and a rest period of not less than 10 minutes every two hours.
(d) If an employee in the motion picture industry or the broadcasting industry, as those industries are defined in Industrial Welfare Commission Wage Order Numbers 11 and 12, is covered by a valid collective bargaining agreement that provides for meal periods and includes a monetary remedy if the employee does not receive a meal period required by the agreement, then the terms, conditions, and remedies of the agreement pertaining to meal periods apply in lieu of the applicable provisions pertaining to meal periods of subdivision (a) of this section, Section 226.7, and Industrial Welfare Commission Wage Order Numbers 11 and 12.
(e) Subdivisions (a) and (b) do not apply to an employee specified in subdivision (f) if both of the following conditions are satisfied:
(1) The employee is covered by a valid collective bargaining agreement.
(2) The valid collective bargaining agreement expressly provides for the wages, hours of work, and working conditions of employees, and expressly provides for meal periods for those employees, final and binding arbitration of disputes concerning application of its meal period provisions, premium wage rates for all overtime hours worked, and a regular hourly rate of pay of not less than 30 percent more than the state minimum wage rate.
(f) Subdivision (e) applies to each of the following employees:
(1) An employee employed in a construction occupation.
(2) An employee employed as a commercial driver.
(3) An employee employed in the security services industry as a security officer who is registered pursuant to Chapter 11.5 (commencing with Section 7580) of Division 3 of the Business and Professions Code, and who is employed by a private patrol operator registered pursuant to that chapter.
(4) An employee employed by an electrical corporation, a gas corporation, or a local publicly owned electric utility.
(g) The following definitions apply for the purposes of this section:
(1) “Commercial driver” means an employee who operates a vehicle described in Section 260 or 462 of, or subdivision (b) of Section 15210 of, the Vehicle Code.
(2) “Construction occupation” means all job classifications associated with construction by Article 2 (commencing with Section 7025) of Chapter 9 of Division 3 of the Business and Professions Code, including work involving alteration, demolition, building, excavation, renovation, remodeling, maintenance, improvement, and repair, and any other similar or related occupation or trade.
(3) “Electrical corporation” has the same meaning as provided in Section 218 of the Public Utilities Code.
(4) “Gas corporation” has the same meaning as provided in Section 222 of the Public Utilities Code.
(5) “Local publicly owned electric utility” has the same meaning as provided in Section 224.3 of the Public Utilities Code.

SEC. 2.

 No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution.
SECTION 1.Section 2852 of the Labor Code is amended to read:
2852.

A gratuitous employee, who accepts a written power of attorney, shall act under it so long as it remains in force or until the employee gives notice to the employer that the employee will no longer do so.