California Appellate Court Affirms Employer’s Decertification of Meal and Rest Period Class Action
The California Court of Appeal, First Appellate District, recently affirmed a trial court ruling decertifying a wage-and-hour class action alleging a hospital failed to comply with protections for meal and rest periods for registered nurses. The ruling provided several significant employer-friendly holdings regarding class certification in California wage-and-hour litigation. Quick Hits The California Court of Appeal, First Appellate District, affirmed a trial court’s ruling decertifying meal and rest period claims. The appellate court held that an unreliable survey, combined with employee time records showing short/late/missed meal periods, was insufficient proof of classwide liability. The ruling confirms that class member testimony can rebut a presumption of meal period violations created by employee time records. Additionally, the ruling shows that courts can weigh credibility and credit employer declarations in determining whether individual issues predominate. In Allison v. ...