To Seat, or Not to Seat: That is the Question

Seyfarth Synopsis: Seats must be provided for each location where the work reasonably permits.

 

It started like a bad joke. A cashier and a bank teller walk into a bar—actually, a federal court served by the Bar—and sue CVS Pharmacy and JPMorgan Chase Bank, claiming they were entitled to sit while working, under the California wage orders. They lose and appeal to the Ninth Circuit.

 

The Ninth Circuit looked here and there but could find no California case interpreting the seating provisions in the wage orders. No precedent defined what the wage orders mean by requiring employers to provide “suitable seating” “when the nature of the work reasonably permits.” The Ninth Circuit asked the California Supreme Court to opine. On April 4, 2016, the California high court finally did.

 

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