Brinker International announced April 12 that the California Supreme Court has issued an opinion in Brinker Restaurant Corp. et al v. The Superior Court for the State of California for the County of San Diego. The decision resolves the legal standards to be applied to California meal period and rest break class actions.
"Brinker is very pleased with the California Supreme Court's ruling," says Roger Thomson, executive vice president and general counsel of Brinker International.
"We're glad to finally have resolution on the proper legal standards for meal period and rest breaks in our California restaurants. At Brinker, we pride ourselves on creating a positive work environment for our team members. Policies, including those for meal period and rest breaks, are and will continue to be, reflective of that commitment."
"The California Supreme Court effectively truncates the Hohnbaum class action lawsuit, and allows Brinker and our team members to focus on what we do best–providing food, service, and warm hospitality to more than one million guests a day," Thomson says.
"Today, the California Supreme Court defined key aspects of California's meal and rest period laws, especially that employers need not force their employees to take meal periods they would prefer to skip," says Rex Heinke, partner at Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld and Brinker's lead attorney before the California Supreme Court.
"The Court's definitive resolution of these critical issues offers clear and much-needed guidance not only to Brinker and their team members, but to hundreds of thousands of employers and employees statewide," Heinke says. "It has been a pleasure to represent Brinker in this historic case, and we are delighted with the California Supreme Court's decision, which will benefit all California employers and employees."
