Key Points
- On May 23, 2022, in Naranjo v. Spectrum Security Services, Inc., the California Supreme Court held that a failure to provide premium pay for meal or rest break violations under California Labor Code ' 226.7 may give rise to derivative liability for failure to pay final wages and failure to provide accurate wage statements.
- The final pay and wage statement statutes provide steep monetary penalties to a plaintiff who is able to prove the elements of those claims, so the Naranjo decision could significantly increase the potential exposure to defendants in some meal and rest break cases that do not otherwise include wage claims.
- A plaintiff seeking final pay or wage statement penalties must still prove the elements of those claims, including that a failure to provide an accurate wage statement was "knowing and intentional." That showing may be difficult as a practical matter in current cases, considering that employers' obligation to report break premiums on wage statements was unclear.
On May 23, 2022, the...
