RE: California Employment Laws/Codes??

[Brian Ray]

Hoping somebody on here might be able to give me some insight as some of you own/operate your own business here in California.
Here's the situation....My wife works for a company as a non-exempt employee who is paid on an hourly basis. The company has decided to change here daily work schedule from 8am-5pm w/one hour lunch to 9am-5pm w/a working lunch to be taken at the office. Can they do this??
I've read through some CA Labor Codes and can't find anything that states that the employer can dictate how/where you can take your lunch. It's my understanding that in CA if you are a non-exempt employee and work a min. of 5 hours said employee is provided a 30 min. lunch. I got this from www.leginfo.ca.gov CA Labor Code Section 515.(A).
-Brian

[Havasu_Dreamin]

You are correct, by CA law a non-exempot employee must be provided a 30 minute meal period after 5 hours of work, unless they plan to work only 6 hours that day then the 30 minute meal period can be waived. Also, they can't alter the work day of the company without a 2/3 vote approval of the affected employees. Keep in mind, there are some limtiations to these laws with respect to industry and size of the company. Also, non-exempt employees are required to be given two PAID 15 minute breaks in an 8 hour day. The breaks can not be saved up to use at the end of the day to leave early either.

[Mrs. Bordsmnj]

There is no such thing as a working lunch unless they pay her for it. But still its illegal. If you work over 6 hours, 1/2 hour lunch must be taken.

[Brian Ray]

Also, non-exempt employees are required to be given two PAID 15 minute breaks in an 8 hour day. The breaks can not be saved up to use at the end of the day to leave early either.
They don't get those either.....The company is a national well known home builder. It would affect only two employees....
I've told her to contact her HR person but from past experience with this said HR person it's almost pointless as said HR person doesn't know "jack" about HR. I'm tempted to contact an attorney as there has been some other issues that my wife hasn't addressed, as she doesn't want to rock the boat. She is getting ready to leave for maturity leave in another two months.....Keep in mind the VP of Operations has flat out said if she would have known my wife was pregnant she would not have hired her. This was said directly to my wife's sales manager who then told my wife about it......

[mike37]

it sounds like she will be getting a paid lunch
so they may be able to require he to stay on to company grounds but they must give here 1/2hr of no work for lunch even if its paid

[Havasu_Dreamin]

They don't get those either.....The company is a national well known home builder. It would affect only two employees....
I've told her to contact her HR person but from past experience with this said HR person it's almost pointless as said HR person doesn't know "jack" about HR. I'm tempted to contact an attorney as there has been some other issues that my wife hasn't addressed, as she doesn't want to rock the boat. She is getting ready to leave for maturity leave in another two months.....Keep in mind the VP of Operations has flat out said if she would have known my wife was pregnant she would not have hired her. This was said directly to my wife's sales manager who then told my wife about it......
I'm not a proponent of lawsuits, but that comment about your wife being pregnant and not having been hired had they known is just asking for a lawsuit.
If you are so inclined, either contact an attorney our file a complaint with the CA Department of Industrial Relations (http://www.dir.ca.gov/). I'd make them aware of the no break issue and the comment about the pregnancy. I'm not a fan of unions as we have laws to ensure worker equality/protection, but as in your wife's case, sometimes the company needs to have a 'come to Jesus' meeting with the DIR.

[Havasu_Dreamin]

it sounds like she will be getting a paid lunch
so they may be able to require he to stay on to company grounds but they must give here 1/2hr of no work for lunch even if its paid
This is the key, they are required to give 30 minutes of NO work. Even answering a phone constitutes work from a labor law standpoint.

[mike37]

They don't get those either.....The company is a national well known home builder. It would affect only two employees....
I've told her to contact her HR person but from past experience with this said HR person it's almost pointless as said HR person doesn't know "jack" about HR. I'm tempted to contact an attorney as there has been some other issues that my wife hasn't addressed, as she doesn't want to rock the boat. She is getting ready to leave for maturity leave in another two months.....Keep in mind the VP of Operations has flat out said if she would have known my wife was pregnant she would not have hired her. This was said directly to my wife's sales manager who then told my wife about it......
what well known home builder give us a name

[Brian Ray]

I'm not a proponent of lawsuits, but that comment about your wife being pregnant and not having been hired had they known is just asking for a lawsuit.
If you are so inclined, either contact an attorney our file a complaint with the CA Department of Industrial Relations (http://www.dir.ca.gov/). I'd make them aware of the no break issue and the comment about the pregnancy. I'm not a fan of unions as we have laws to ensure worker equality/protection, but as in your wife's case, sometimes the company needs to have a 'come to Jesus' meeting with the DIR.
Yeah, that comment got me pretty hot under the collar too but my wife is not a big fan of filing lawsuits but they left themselves open on that one that is for sure. We will see how things shake out....

[Brian Ray]

it sounds like she will be getting a paid lunch
so they may be able to require he to stay on to company grounds but they must give here 1/2hr of no work for lunch even if its paid
I'm not sure they can force you to stay on company grounds if they do not provide some form of food service....Couldn't find anything in the California Labor Codes that mentions this. She works in a model home, which acts as the sales office within a housing community. They would have to bring their lunch everyday....

[Brian Ray]

what well known home builder give us a name
I would rather not say.....but they are a $10.5 billion dollar company.

[YeLLowBoaT]

yeah saying that is just asking for it....I hate to say it but I would not hire some 1 was pergant( for both $$$$ and for the helath of the baby. She should not be breathing paint fumes). I know its illegal but I have a biz to run here and can't lose employees for lengths of time. If I lost my employee I would be out of alot of money.
really with what your saying I am wondering if she is non-exempt. No big construction company would be that dumb. I mean the last thing you need when your building houses is to have a delay.

[mike37]

I'm not sure they can force you to stay on company grounds if they do not provide some form of food service....Couldn't find anything in the California Labor Codes that mentions this. She works in a model home, which acts as the sales office within a housing community. They would have to bring their lunch everyday....
ca code is hard to follow but its not unreasonable for here to bring a lunch so the may be able to require here to stay especially if its a paid lunch
and there are provisions for jobs that require no lunch or a working lunch
but that would be for a job that would require constant monitoring buy one person and it would have had to be part of the original work agreement
your wifes job doesn't fit that description
is it Centex homes

[Red Eye]

Lunch??? What's that? :)

[Brian Ray]

She works on the sales side...she has nothing to do with the actual building of the homes. According to the paper work we have when she was hire, it states non-exempt.
I can understand your point about not hiring women who could become pregnant from a small business owner perceptive but this a major company who is traded on NASDAQ. This company can afford this as most major companies can.....
At the time she was hired we did not know she was pregnant....after finding out she would have actually been one month. Most don't know there pregnant until after a few months...at least that's what the Dr. said.

[Ultrafied]

No "working" lunch. 30 minutes of solitude, eating, listening to music, etc. If they are expecting someone to eat and take calls, meet customers, sweep, etc. then I say BS .... you should be "required" to work during your lunch break.

[Brian Ray]

ca code is hard to follow but its not unreasonable for here to bring a lunch so the may be able to require here to stay especially if its a paid lunch
and there are provisions for jobs that require no lunch or a working lunch
but that would be for a job that would require constant monitoring buy one person and it would have had to be part of the original work agreement
your wifes job doesn't fit that description
is it Centex homes
Well, it's hard to follow what would be considered a "paid lunch"....she works 40hrs a week, which doesn't include some overtime here and there...according to the new purposed sch. of 9am-5pm she would work 8 hrs. Within the 8 hrs. would be a working lunch.....According to CA Labor Codes employees are provided at least a 30 min. lunch if they work more than 5 hr.s.....
Close on the home builder.... :wink:

[mike37]

Well, it's hard to follow what would be considered a "paid lunch"....she works 40hrs a week, which doesn't include some overtime here and there...according to the new purposed sch. of 9am-5pm she would work 8 hrs. Within the 8 hrs. would be a working lunch.....According to CA Labor Codes employees are provided at least a 30 min. lunch if they work more than 5 hr.s.....
Close on the home builder.... :wink:
if she is paid for 8 hrs 9 to 5 then the 30 min lunch is a paid lunch
because it part of here 8 hr pay period

[Redwing247]

Did she sign a consent? Employer can't single sidedly make that change unless she agreed to it and signed a concent form which they will keep ion her employee file). Just as lawsuits with overtime here in Ca, the next big thing is "uninterupted" meal break. Many national QSR (quick service restaurant or fast food) consistently reminding their ops mgr to make sure compliance is in place.
As far as comment regarding her pregnancy, that was pretty dumb for a VP to make that comment, worse for the mgr to inform the employee of the comment.
I suggest you get a consultation with an employment atty, even if you're not planning to sue.
Just my .02

[Nord]

Now you take the risk if you say something of her being layed off (if they are dicks)
Sue you say..................good luck!

[Brian Ray]

if she is paid for 8 hrs 9 to 5 then the 30 min lunch is a paid lunch
because it part of here 8 hr pay period
Agreed...but nowhere in the CA Labor Codes does it say an employer has the right to say where you take that 30 min. lunch. The employer can't make you take your lunch at your desk.
Code seems vague and leaves it's self open to interpretation for attorney's to argue over. But what law or code doesn't..... :hammer2:

[chub]

I work from 0630 to 1430 and get paid lunches. We can't leave the sight and if something comes up you gotta drop your lunch and take care of business. You come back to it later. Some guys take there 15/30/15 breaks some don't. I usually take about a half hour in the morning and that's it. The point here is if you get paid for lunches you have to remain available for work if needed. Is her sales office that busy everyday that she never gets a lunch?
We are a UNION shop!
Pregnant comment flat out stupid! :frown:

[mike37]

Agreed...but nowhere in the CA Labor Codes does it say an employer has the right to say where you take that 30 min. lunch. The employer can't make you take your lunch at your desk.
Code seems vague and leaves it's self open to interpretation for attorney's to argue over. But what law or code doesn't..... :hammer2:
if you call your local unemployment office and ask if they have a person that can give you some answers or a number to call
other wise you may have to read the hole dame code to find what you need
just remember employers have rights to and if what they are asking is deemed reasonable for here job you never know what is allowed

[Brian Ray]

if you call your local unemployment office and ask if they have a person that can give you some answers or a number to call
other wise you may have to read the hole dame code to find what you need
just remember employers have rights to and if what they are asking is deemed reasonable for here job you never know what is allowed
Exactly.....it can go either way. It really comes down to who can argue their case better. In most cases it's the employer as they have the deeper pockets. :wink:
I guess we'll just wait and see.....

[mike37]

I work from 0630 to 1430 and get paid lunches. We can't leave the sight and if something comes up you gotta drop your lunch and take care of business. You come back to it later. Some guys take there 15/30/15 breaks some don't. I usually take about a half hour in the morning and that's it. The point here is if you get paid for lunches you have to remain available for work if needed. Is her sales office that busy everyday that she never gets a lunch?
We are a UNION shop!
Pregnant comment flat out stupid! :frown:
in a union you have a collective bargaining agreement and you work schedule
is part of that so you may have agreed to that at the time you got hired or at the time you joined the union

[chub]

I didn't sign anything stating it and I know it doesn't say anything in our collective bargaining agreement with BOMA either.
I'm all over that thing, our shop steward comes to me with questions, I guess we've all just accepted it as part of our jobs.

[Flake]

One thing is if your wife does get a paid lunch hour and she gets into an kind of accident workers' comp has to pay.
She must be allowed to walk away from her desk no matter what for her breaks and lunch. They are in the wrong let me see if I can find the law that states that I have the books, I use to be a HR manager. Also, we need to know what it states in the handbook and has she signed anything??????

[mike37]

Exactly.....it can go either way. It really comes down to who can argue their case better. In most cases it's the employer as they have the deeper pockets. :wink:
I guess we'll just wait and see.....
this is what I think they can do she must stay on sight for lunch
but they cannot keep her from a 30 min no work lunch away from her desk if its paid
if its not paid then she can leave for lunch but not more than 30 min

[Brian Ray]

I work from 0630 to 1430 and get paid lunches. We can't leave the sight and if something comes up you gotta drop your lunch and take care of business. You come back to it later. Some guys take there 15/30/15 breaks some don't. I usually take about a half hour in the morning and that's it. The point here is if you get paid for lunches you have to remain available for work if needed. Is her sales office that busy everyday that she never gets a lunch?
We are a UNION shop!
Pregnant comment flat out stupid! :frown:
Her sales office always has anywhere from 2 to 5 people there....besides the housing community is winding down as they're almost sold out and will all be moving to a new community the first part of the new year.
Pregnant comment floored me as well.....and this was from another female. I can't believe companies still hire people with this mind set. :(
My wife is a real trooper when it comes to being pregnant....she has not taken one day off the entire time and will be working until two weeks before she is due. She is arrives to work before everyone else and usually stay's later then everyone else. She is a true asset to this company....

[mike37]

I didn't sign anything stating it and I know it doesn't say anything in our collective bargaining agreement with BOMA either.
I'm all over that thing, our shop steward comes to me with questions, I guess we've all just accepted it as part of our jobs.
at the time you were hierd did they tell you the work schedule
and did you agree to it

[Brian Ray]

One thing is if your wife does get a paid lunch hour and she gets into an kind of accident workers' comp has to pay.
She must be allowed to walk away from her desk no matter what for her breaks and lunch. They are in the wrong let me see if I can find the law that states that I have the books, I use to be a HR manager. Also, we need to know what it states in the handbook and has she signed anything??????
It wouldn't be in the handbook because this is a new policy they want to implement.....

[chub]

There has to be something her and her co workers can work out. We get bugged all the time also. We actually put a lock on our break room door so we wouldn't be bothered. I don't think she can get away from the not leaving part but she definatly deserves a half hour break. Maybe a short chat with a lawyer or even a union rep would help.

[chub]

at the time you were hierd did they tell you the work schedule
and did you agree to it
Yeah, now I get you.

[meaniam]

a company can require you to stay on premises during your lunch break. if it is paid by the company. but im not sure if they can intrupt your lunch break. i had a similar situation like this working for a dealership. it all started with the pay plan and i ended it with the breaks. she was an ahole so i decided to give her an lesson in emploment labor laws. by calling the labor board. she retalated with firing me. even though that is illegal she did it. i filed a complaint on that to. but all i really wanted was my paycheck she was holding and saying i wasnt entitled to. i recived my check 2 days before court a 1 and 1/2 months after being fired. i took it to court. they had to pay for a lawyer and restatution. then the commissioner asked if my employer vilated rest periods and meal breaks she denined it i knew i had no proof and didnt pursue it. but if i did have proof and countined it im sure i could have been paid for that to.
when an employeer violates a labor law. the employee may be rewarded with restatution <sp> and labor board may open a case and supena all employee records, dont comprimise your case and place on time card meal break let them write it on your time card. and let them make the deduction of time

[YeLLowBoaT]

If you need it I have a phone # of a really good labor attourny let me know..... she is one of the best and loves to skrew companys.

[C-2]

I would rather not say.....but they are a $10.5 billion dollar company.
And you would consider litigation, after only 7-8 months of employment?
I work with labor law attorneys who works both sides; doubt there's much of a punitive aspect considering the short length of employment.
Is she beyond any probationary periods? Be really tough to prove the pregnancy thing (hearsay), you'd be amazed how stories change when their own positions are threatened. Not trying to sound mean, only asking.

[Brian Ray]

And you would consider litigation, after only 7-8 months of employment?
I work with labor law attorneys who works both sides; doubt there's much of a punitive aspect considering the short length of employment.
Is she beyond any probationary periods? Be really tough to prove the pregnancy thing (hearsay), you'd be amazed how stories change when their own positions are threatened. Not trying to sound mean, only asking.
She is way past her 90 day probationary period.....
I'm not sure I understand where length of empolyment would come into play....shouldn't matter if it's 3 months or 30 years.
The statement regarding her being pregnant could be backed up....long story but the short of it is the VP and the manager don't get along a both are out to get each other.
It amazing to me the amount of bickering that goes on in this company at this level....it's like high school. :rollside: I'm glad I don't have to put up with that sh*t at my work....