First few Article Sentences
For decades, Washington employers have operated under regulations issued by the Department of Labor & Industries that establish the minimum requirements for rest and meal breaks for non-exempt employees. Generally, the regulation requires a 30-minute meal break for an employee working five or more hours and a 10-minute paid rest break for every four hours of work. Washington healthcare providers have been able to provide rest and meal breaks without any documented cases of adverse patient impact, unlike England. (“Man dies as ambulance crews take a break,” London Evening Standard, May 1, 2007.) That may soon change.
In recent years, rest and meal breaks have generated substantial controversy – and litigation. In its 2002 Wingert decision, the state Supreme Court concluded that employees who did not receive required rest breaks were entitled to additional compensation even though they had been paid for the time worked. Wingert did not address other rest and meal break issues. Unions and employee advocates have continued to raise claims about “intermittent” breaks, the rate of pay for missed breaks, and whether employers must ensure that employees actually receive breaks. In 2010, two of the main arenas for these disputes will be in agency rule-making and before the legislature.