Ninth Circuit to California Supreme Court: About that One Day's Rest in Seven Law?

If only I could ask the California Supreme Court to answer some wage and hour questions for my clients and me. Fortunately, the federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has that authority.
In this instance, the Ninth Circuit has asked the California Court to take up three questions pertaining to California's rarely litigated "day of rest" laws.   In California, there is a statute requiring "one day's rest" in seven. There are some exceptions too.

Here are the questions the Court asked about these statutes:

"Rolling v. Workweek" 

(A) California Labor Code section 551 provides that “[e]very person employed in any occupation of labor is entitled to one day’s rest therefrom in seven.” Is the required day of rest calculated by the workweek, or is it calculated on a rolling basis for any consecutive seven- day period?

This question is very important.  Sometimes employees may work seven days in a row, but across two different work weeks.  If the rule is any consecutive seven days, that could cause significant scheduling issues.

Exemption for Part Timers?

(B) California Labor Code section 556 exempts employers from providing such a day of rest “when the total hours of employment do not exceed 30 hours in any week or six hours in any one day thereof.” (Emphasis added.) Does that exemption apply when an employee works less than six hours in any one day of the applicable week, or does it apply only when an employee works less than six hours in each day of the week?

The Court wants to know:  may an employee work 7 days if he works 8-8-8-5-8-8-8 without causing a violation?  Or must the hours be under 6 for each day worked in the seven consecutive days, e.g., 5-5-5-5-5-5-5?

Switching / Trading Shifts 

(C) California Labor Code section 552 provides that an employer may not “cause his employees to work more than six days in seven.” What does it mean for an employer to “cause” an employee to work more than six days in seven: force, coerce, pressure, schedule, encourage, reward, permit, or something else? 

Here the Court wants to know whether an employer violates the law merely by allowing a worker to work 7 days in a row?  For example, what if an employee is scheduled to work only 6 days per week. But the employee 'picks up" a shift because a co-worker asks him or her to do so?

* * * *

The Supreme Court may decline to answer the questions, but may choose to do so.   If the Court rules in favor of the employee-friendly interpretation presented as an alternative in the Ninth Circuit's order, it would completely change the way employers schedule employees, and likely would result in fewer hours worked per employee.   So, this is a very important case for the Supreme Court to rule on.

The case is Mendoza v. Nordstrom, and the opinion is here.  Interesting reading, employers and lawyers.