IMPORTANT MESSAGE to California Full Serve Car Wash Operators!

On November 2, 2011 a Santa Monica car wash signed a union contract with the United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union (members of AFL-CIO) on behalf of its Carwash Workers Organizing Committee (CWOC) (see car wash union article). The CWOC has brought together a diverse coalition of labor, immigrant rights, religious, environmental, and community organizations called CLEAN, which stands for Community Labor Environ­mental Action Network. This group has mounted a CLEAN Car Wash Campaign in an attempt to organize unions at Southern California full serve car washes.   

It is important that you be aware of employer rights and what to do in case a union approaches you. Please click here - union information to download a copy of some information about the "do's and don'ts" when it comes to union activities. These important documents are provided by CEA (California Employers Association) and Gary Bethel of Littler Mendelson; both of whom are WCA affinity business partners. I suggest you review the material carefully. If you have any questions please contact Scott Dear at the CEA, sdear@employers.org, 800.399.5331 or contact me at rossh@wcwa.org, 800.344.4135. If you are interested in participating in a meeting to discuss union issues and the 2012 labor law amendments let us know by completing this four question survey.     

If you are not a WCA member, we encourage you to join and take advantage of it's benefits. Join WCA Today!     

Respectfully,
Ross Hutchings
Executive Director

Summary and Important Points

Background On The Law Regarding Meal & Rest Periods

Meal Periods

• In California, an employer may not employ an employee for a work period of more than five hours per day without providing the employee with a meal period of not less than thirty minutes, except if the total work period per day of the employee is no more than six hours, the meal period may be waived by mutual consent of both the employer and employee.
• A second meal period of not less than thirty minutes is required if an employee works more than ten hours per day, except that if the total hours worked is no more than 12 hours, the second meal period may be waived by mutual consent of the employer and employee only if the first meal period was not waived. There are some industry specific exceptions to this requirement.
• Unless the employee is relieved of all duty during his or her thirty minute meal period, the meal period shall be considered an "on duty" meal period that is counted as hours worked which must be compensated at the employee's regular rate of pay.
• An "on duty" meal period shall be permitted only when the nature of the work prevents an employee from being relieved of all duty and when by written agreement between the employer and employee an on-the-job paid meal period is agreed to. The written agreement must state that the employee may, in writing, revoke the agreement at any time.  Employers considering whether the “nature” of the work permits an “on duty” meal period should consult with experienced employment law counsel.
• If the employer requires the employee to remain at the work site or facility during the meal period, the meal period must be paid. This is true even where the employee is relieved of all work duties during the meal period.
• If an employer fails to provide an employee a meal period in accordance with an applicable IWC Order, the employer must pay one additional hour of pay at the employee's regular rate of pay for each workday that the meal period is not provided (Labor Code Section 226.7). This additional hour is not counted as hours worked for purposes of overtime calculations.

Rest Periods

• In California, the IWC orders require that employers must authorize and permit non-exempt employees to take a rest period that must, insofar as practicable, be taken in the middle of each work period. The rest period is based on the total hours worked daily and must be at the minimum rate of a net ten consecutive minutes for each four hour work period, or major fraction thereof.
• The Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE) considers anything more than two hours to be a "major fraction" of four." A rest period is not required for employees whose total daily work time is less than three and one-half hours.
• The rest period is counted as time worked and therefore, the employer must pay for such periods. Since employees are paid for their rest periods, they can be required to remain on the employer's premises during such periods.
• There are some industry specific exceptions to the rest period requirements set forth in the IWC orders.
• If an employer fails to provide an employee a rest period in accordance with an applicable IWC Order, the employer shall pay the employee one additional hour of pay at the employee's regular rate of pay for each workday that the rest period is not provided (Labor Code Section 226.7). Thus, if an employer does not provide all of the rest periods required in a workday, the employee is entitled to one additional hour of pay for that workday, not one additional hour of pay for each rest period that was not provided during that workday. This additional hour is not counted as hours worked for purposes of overtime calculations.