Disneyland--Meal Penalty

[ttztotdca50]

Hey guys!

So I've submitted meal waivers TWICE (once in July and once in September), but apparently they haven't gone through. So today while I was pulled form ODV to be a houseman for special events, I was the only person in my group that hadn't had the form go through. However, because it was a six-hour shift, they assured me that--as long as I clocked out by my sixth hour--I wouldn't get a meal penalty, even without the form.

However, when I got home from work today, I checked Workbrain. Sure enough, it said at the top "Meal Penalty". What the heck?! Should I be worried right now? Also, should I discuss this with my ODV managers, even though it was under the Special Events manager?

Thanks for your help! I'd rather not get a coaching or, worse yet, a written.

[CujoSR]

CA state law requires that you take a 30 min meal BEFORE working 5 hours, unless a waiver is signed and agreed upon by the employee and employer.

http://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/faq_mealperiods.htm

[ttztotdca50]

Yes but: "...except that if the total work period per day of the employee is no more than six hours". I clocked out at EXACTLY six hours--if I had worked six hours and one minute, I should've gotten a penalty, but not just six hours.

[Main Streeter]

Get a hold of your Team Manager ASAP. If you are ODV @ DL is you manager Rob? He is very fair & a fine researcher as far where your other 2 waivers went. Go get another waiver ASAP! Sign, date & put "Waiver # 3" in bold red @ top & make a copy. Turn in to lead & manager daily until you know waiver is in the system. Remember... DL has a black hole when paper work is involved.

[darph nader]

Get a hold of your Team Manager ASAP. If you are ODV @ DL is you manager Rob? He is very fair & a fine researcher as far where your other 2 waivers went. Go get another waiver ASAP! Sign, date & put "Waiver # 3" in bold red @ top & make a copy. Turn in to lead & manager daily until you know waiver is in the system. Remember... DL has a black hole when paper work is involved.

tt,shoulda asked "Alice" directly,she's pretty much in the groove.

[Main Streeter]

tt,shoulda asked "Alice" directly,she's pretty much in the groove.

& then there are days. T U... i guess. ;)

[Freak]

The 5 hour mark thing, yeah...I don't have a waiver, don't think I'll get one. I used to be real smooth with my lunches and breaks at my past two jobs. But with the clocks and how they work here at Disney, there's no point in doing so.

Back at Knott's, we operated on this weird clocking system where if you clocked at xx:37, it would be read as xx:30, but if you clocked at xx:38, it'd read xx:45 etc etc. I think it was called the 7 minute rule or something.

Anyways, us trainers and leads got real good at working that system. When we were crunched for time, we'd clock out for lunch @ xx:40-xx:45 and clock in @ xx:08. We'd shave some time off our lunch and get breaks/lunches back on schedule, and we'd still technically take a 30 minute lunch, so the state was happy. Worked real well till some new kids thought they could do it too and started messing up really badly and took 15 minute lunches. Ended our "7 minute rule" system at Knott's.

Radioshack was even worse. Our managers manually put in our lunches/breaks, which doesn't seem...legal to me. Not sure if it is or not...sure doesn't feel like it's legal though. Plus we never got those 15 min breaks they put in on our timesheets...

Anyways, yeah. I won't do the waiver thing since it doesn't seem to work. BTW you won't get a written for a meal penalty...just a coaching, and maybe some points I think at worst.

[CA Screamin Dude]

However, because it was a six-hour shift, they assured me that--as long as I clocked out by my sixth hour--I wouldn't get a meal penalty, even without the form.

There's your problem. See IWC 17-2001.9 (A): No employer shall employ any person for a work period of more than five (5) hours without a meal period of not less than 30 minutes, except that when a work period of not more than six (6) hours will complete the day’s work the meal period may be waived by mutual consent of the employer and the employee.

Without the waiver, you can work up to five hours without a meal break. When you hit the five hour mark, your employer is obligated to provide a meal period. This obligation may be deferred to the sixth hour with an appropriate waiver indicating mutual consent of the waive. Since it appears you have no waiver on file, your employer was obligated to provide you with a meal period since you worked over five hours. Had the mutual consent waiver been executed by that shift, you would have had no problem working six hours without a meal period.

Now, if your supervisor failed to provide a meal period during your 6 hour shift by incorrectly informing you that you do not receive a meal period as long as you clock out by the 6th hour, your employer is required by law to pay you one hour of pay at your regular rate [9 (C)]. In other words, if the phrase "Meal Penalty" shows up in workbrain, the Company knows you didn't have a meal period when you were supposed to. If you let them know that your supervisor (and by extension, your employer) failed to provide you with a meal period for >5 hours worked (because the waiver didn't go through), the Company is required to pay you for one hour at your regular rate of pay (formerly called a "penalty," now called a "wage"). The workbrain's "Meal Penalty" message that you see is simply the Company's way of telling you, "hey, we're going to get in trouble if you continue not to have a meal period." Your paycheck should also include this one hour missed meal period wage (formerly "penalty"). If it does not and your employer failed to provide you with a meal period, you have a valid claim and case against your employer (though employees are usually reluctant to take on their employer while they're still working for them. They shouldn't be, though, there are Whistle Blower and similar laws on the books that make any Company-end recourse or retaliation completely illegal). The statute of limitations for this kind of a claim in California is three years.

If you have further inquiries, contact the Company's HR division (they should have provided you with the meal period in the first place... it was improper for a supervisor not knowledgeable of the law to advise you to not take a meal period, it indicates liability on the Company's part). If you need help from outside of the Company, see your Union rep or go straight to the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement. There is a DLSE office in Santa Ana.

Especially if you get in trouble for this "Meal Penalty" nonsense, you need to pursue the issue and attest to the misinformation you were given, and ultimately, that you were denied a meal period during that shift. An employer cannot penalize an employee for misconduct which the former is responsible for. Part of running a business includes a certain responsibility to follow Labor Laws. The impetus in this situation is on the Employer, especially since your employer explicitly told you what to do. If you get in trouble for this, you really need to file a claim and/or get the Union involved (assuming ODV HH is part of a Union).