In a ruling that clarifies a previously unsettled area of California employment law, a California Court of Appeal affirmed the enforceability of written, prospective meal period waivers for shifts between five and six hours long. The April 21, 2025 decision in Bradsbery v. Vicar Operating, Inc. explained that advanced “blanket” waivers are valid under the law if freely revocable and absent evidence of coercion or unconscionability. For California employers, Bradsbery provides much-needed guidance on how to properly implement meal period waivers in compliance with the law.
The Legal Context
Under California Labor Code Section 512, employees are entitled to a 30-minute duty-free meal period after five hours of work. The law permits employees to waive this meal period for shifts no longer than six hours if the waiver is made by mutual consent.
The issue in Bradsbery was whether this mutual consent could be documented in a standing, written waiver signed at the outset of employment, referred to as a “blanket” or “prospective” waiver, rather than being obtained anew for each qualifying shift.
The Case
Plaintiffs La Kimba Bradsbery and Cheri Brakensiek filed a class action against their former employer, Vicar Operating, Inc., alleging they were improperly denied meal periods. In its defense, Vicar relied on written agreements, voluntarily signed by both employees, which waived meal periods on shifts of six hours or less.
The trial court found for Vicar, stating that such...
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