On February 18, 2022, a California appellate court issued the latest guidance in the continuing saga of statewide “suitable seating” litigation, cementing a significant trial victory for grocers, retailers, and other employers across California. The appeal arose in LaFace v. Ralphs Grocery Co., the first suitable-seating case to proceed to trial following the California Supreme Court’s decision in Kilby v. CVS Pharmacy, Inc., which examined, as a matter of first impression, employers’ obligations to provide suitable seating to employees under the California Industrial Welfare Commission’s (IWC) wage orders. Section 14, the suitable-seating provision found in most of the wage orders, requires employers to provide suitable seating in two circumstances: (1) when the nature of the work reasonably permits the use of seats (section 14(A)), and (2) when an employee is not actively engaged in duties that require standing, or, as the court described the requirement, during “lulls in operation” (section 14(B)).
In LaFace, the California Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, addressed two significant issues. First, the appellate court ruled that, under section 14(B) of IWC Wage Order 7, an employer does not have to provide seating where the employer’s expectation for employees to keep busy and not stand around means there is no functional “lull” in duties that would require the employer to provide seating. Second, the court held that suitable seating claims and other claims...
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