Recently the California Supreme Court issued a decision in Mendoza v. Nordstrom, which may has implications for employers of all sizes. The dispute arose from a longstanding California statute guaranteeing employees a day of rest—one day in seven. The plaintiffs, had volunteered to take on extra shifts, yet argued that in offering these additional shifts their employer had violated their right to a day of rest. In a brief filed on behalf of the employer, the NFIB Small Business Legal Center voiced concern that such a rule would inappropriately tie employer’s hands when seeking to cover shifts.
Key take aways from the Mendoza decision:
1. The Court affirmed employers are required only to schedule an off-date once for each seven-day workweek. For example, an employee might legitimately work seven days in a row over a two-week period (E.g., Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday) so long as he or she has off-time scheduled for each separate workweek. To keep things simple, all that is required is that you must allow one off-day each week—whichever day you might choose.
2. The Court ruled, that employers are forbidden from asking employees to work on the seventh day of a workweek. This means that California employers must think carefully about scheduling shifts going forward.
