Gimme A Break! Get Paid For It!
While we wait not so patiently for the weather to cool here in SoCal, unseasonably warm weather has some workers still facing heat illnesses in the field. Along with many other new laws that took effect this year, your rest periods have been protected by new labor law SB435.
While many industries are unaffected, in Southern California the many outdoor and agricultural employees should know their rights in this area. Our CA Office of Industrial Welfare helps to regulate the working conditions and wages of specific industries in California. As of 2014, any worker who performs their job in the heat, whether outside or indoors, such as a farm field or a bakery, must be given paid break time as close to the middle of their shift as possible, whenever practical.
Any qualifying employee is allotted a PAID ten minute break for every four hours they spend on the job. This rest period CANNOT be used to perform other work related duties. This means your boss cannot send you inside to cool off while you do some desk work or use it as your lunch period. It must be a separate, PAID, full rest period. This was largely put into place to avoid heat related illness and their adverse effects on employees’ long term health.
If you work less than three and a half hours in total, you are not entitled to a break. However, those who have been denied these breaks may have a claim for unpaid wages with penalties and interest.
Your employer can require that you stay on the premises during any paid rest period and therefore may be able to dictate if the break may be used to smoke or not, based on the smoking policy of the facility. There are also exceptions that come into play for workers in 24 hour care facilities. If you work in such a care home you may have breaks restricted under some circumstances, but we can help you determine if you have been unlawfully denied the pay you were owed. On the other hand, if you work in an especially physical manner such as that of athletes, including but not limited to, swimmers, dancers, skaters, and other performers engaged in strenuous physical activities, you are to be given additional periods of rest during rehearsal, performance and filming according to the IWC Order 12-2001, Section 12 (C).
If you or someone you know is being denied these or other rights on the job, United Employees Law Group wants to hear from you RIGHT AWAY! You have a limited amount of time to file any wage claim in California, so don’t delay. CALL UELG FOR YOUR FREE CASE REVIEW.
Photo Credit: Shutterstock/TravelNerd