California’s “day of rest” laws prohibit employers from “causing” employees to work more than 6 days in 7, but do not apply when total hours worked don’t exceed 30 hours in any week or 6 hours in any one day. These laws were the subject of the California Supreme Court’s decision in Mendoza v. Nordstrom, Inc.

FIXED VS. ROLLING WORKWEEK. The first issue was whether the day-of-rest requirement applies on a fixed workweek basis or a rolling basis to any 7 consecutive days. In a win for employers, the court adopted the fixed workweek basis: a day of rest is guaranteed for each workweek, not for each consecutive 7-day period. Rest days need not fall on every seventh day and can be spaced out in a month as long as the number of rest days equals the number of calendar days divided by seven — so an employee could work 12 consecutive days if each workweek still contains one rest day.

THE 6-HOUR EXEMPTION. The court ruled for employees on the second issue: the day-of-rest exemption for workers employed 6 hours or less per day applies only if the employee never exceeds 6 hours of work on any day of the workweek.

WHAT “CAUSE” MEANS. An employer must notify employees of their entitlement to a day of rest and may not encourage them to forego rest or conceal the entitlement, but is not liable simply because an employee chooses to work a 7th consecutive day.

COMPLIANCE STEPS: specify the company’s 7-day workweek in the handbook; notify employees of their right to one day of rest per workweek (and when the 6-hour exemption applies); train supervisors to schedule around the rules and not pressure employees; train payroll to spot violations; and contact counsel for policy drafting or training.

A SUMMER REFRESHER ON DEDUCTIONS FOR EXEMPT EMPLOYEES’ VACATIONS. When exempt employees take time off without enough accrued vacation/PTO: partial-day vacation may be deducted from accrued vacation/PTO per a written policy, but salary cannot be deducted unless the employee performed no work in the workday. For employer shutdowns, an exempt employee can be required to use accrued vacation/PTO (or have salary deducted if the balance is zero) only if the closure is for the entire workweek and no work is performed; exempt employees must be paid full salary for partial-workweek closures. Incorrect salary deductions can jeopardize exempt status.

Originally distributed as a PDF bulletin. View the original PDF.