on Tuesday, July 20, 2021, by the CA Employers Association.
Employers Must Now Use Regular Rate of Pay Instead of Base Hourly Wage For Meal/Rest Premiums
Whenever an employer fails to provide an hourly, non-exempt employee with a sufficient meal rest, or heat recovery period (i.e., too short, delayed or skipped all together) they owe that employee “premium pay” on the next paycheck. Specifically, Labor Code section 226.7(c) requires the employer to pay the employee “one additional hour of pay at the employee’s regular rate of compensation for each workday that the meal or rest or recovery period is not provided.”
Sounds simple, right? The law was passed way back in 2001. Well, not so fast! There has been an open question over the past two decades regarding whether meal/rest premiums must be paid at the employee’s base hourly rate, or at their regular rate of pay (which includes other forms of compensation). Well, wonder no more, the California Supreme Court clarified this question when they ruled on Ferra v. Loews Hollywood Hotel, LLC last week and stated that the employer is required to pay the employee any premium pay using their regular rate of pay.
Read full article here – https://www.employers.org/blog/2021/07/20/default/special-alert-supreme-court-clarifies-premium-pay/
If you need help understanding and staying on top of the CA guidelines and laws for employers, give FLORES a call. Our HR Team can help.