SB 41: Meal and rest breaks: airline cabin crew employees.

Existing law requires an employer to provide an employee with a meal period during a work period of more than 5 hours per day, except as prescribed. Industrial Welfare Commission Wage Order No. 9 regulates employment in the transportation industry and requires an employer to provide an employee with a rest period, as specified. Existing law prohibits an employer from requiring an employee to work during a meal or rest or recovery period mandated pursuant to an applicable statute, or applicable regulation, standard, or order of the Industrial Welfare Commission, the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board, or the Division of Occupational Safety and Health. Existing law requires an employer who fails to provide an employee a mandated meal or rest or recovery period to pay the employee one additional hour of pay at the employees regular rate of compensation for each workday that the meal or rest or recovery period was not provided. Existing law provides certain exemptions from these requirements.

Existing federal law, the Railway Labor Act, regulates labor relations for rail and air carriers and entitles employees to organize and bargain collectively.

This bill would provide that the above-described meal and rest period requirements do not apply to an airline cabin crew employee if the employee is covered by a valid collective bargaining agreement under the Railway Labor Act and that agreement includes a provision addressing meal and rest breaks for airline cabin crew employees, as specified, or, if the employee is represented by a labor organization pursuant to the Railway Labor Act but is not yet covered by a valid collective bargaining agreement that includes a provision addressing meal and rest breaks, those requirements do not apply for the first 12 months of organization, or longer, if agreed upon in writing, as specified. The bill would prohibit a person, commencing December 5, 2022, from filing a new legal action brought by or on behalf of an employee covered by a valid collective bargaining agreement, as specified, asserting claims of alleged meal or rest break violations. The bill would state that it does not affect a settlement agreement or final judgment of a civil action brought by an airline cabin crew employee based on a claim of a meal or rest break violation.

This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.