After multiple appeals, Schuck Law’s attorneys won $6,000,000 in damages for approximately 900 hourly employees whose meal periods (lunches) were less than 30 minutes and were not paid or who worked off the clock doing patient charting. Schuck Law’s attorneys prevailed in setting the legal standard for when employees are due wages for “short” meal periods in Oregon. This seminal case reversed a trend started in federal courts holding that employers met their legal obligations for meal periods under Oregon law if they simply offered a meal period. The Oregon Court of Appeals disagreed, finding that employers must not only offer but also ensure hourly employees receive a continuous, uninterrupted 30-minute meal break when working a shift of at least six hours. If the lunch is not a full 30 minutes, the employer owes full pay for the entire 30 minutes, regardless of whether the work during the meal period was voluntary or required. The court emphasized that mere inclusion of break policies in handbooks isn’t enough. Employers must actively monitor and enforce compliance. On remand, the attorneys at Schuck Law took the matter all the way through a class action trial resulting in judgment for the employees with the employer paying the attorney fees and costs.
DECISION(S):
Maza v. Waterford Operations LLC, 300 Or App 471 (2019), rev den 366 Or 382 (2020).