Employees Cannot Obtain "Double Recovery" Of Unpaid Wages And Premiums For Non-Compliant Rest Breaks

• Published date: 28 October 2020
• Law Firm: Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton
• Author: Mr Michael Campbell and Allison Cheffer

In Alfredo Sanchez v. Miguel Martinez, the Court of Appeal, Third Appellate District, held that although an employee who is not authorized and permitted to take a paid 10-minute rest break in compliance with California law may assert a claim for either unpaid wages or seek one additional hour of pay (i.e., a rest break premium) under Labor Code Section 226.7, the employee cannot recover damages under both theories. All California employers will find this case instructive, as it may also provide a basis to argue against similar "double recovery" and/or "stacking" of penalties predicated on other Labor Code violations.

Factual and Procedural Background

In Sanchez v. Martinez, a group of farm laborers who pruned grapes and were compensated on a piece-rate for each grape vine pruned, filed a wage-hour lawsuit alleging various claims including an alleged failure to have been permitted paid rest breaks. The laborers contended they were not paid their piece-rate ' or any wage rate ' during their rest breaks. In the lawsuit, they pursued a theory of double-recovery, seeking both minimum wage damages for the actual unpaid break time and an additional rest break premium under Section 226.7. Following a trial on the merits and an initial judgment in favor of the employer, an appeal and a partial reversal by the Court of Appeal as to the rest break claim, and then on remand a finding in the laborers' favor, the trial court awarded the laborers $416 in damages and $17,775 in civil penalties. The trial court awarded these damages solely based upon Section 226.7 and...