In Palacio v. Jan & Gail’s Care Homes, Inc., the Court upheld the denial of a class certification based on meal period waivers. At the time of hires, employees of Care Homes are required to sign an agreement waiving their right to uninterrupted meal periods in accordance with the facility’s standard operating procedures.  Plaintiff argued that Care Homes was obligated under the Labor Code to inform employees that they have the right to revoke the agreement at any time.  As a result, plaintiff asserted that class certification was proper because Care Homes instituted a general policy or practice that violated wage and hour laws common among class members, current and former Care Homes employees.  The trial court denied the motion for class certification and she appealed, arguing the trial court erred in finding she failed to establish a well-defined community of interests among class members.

On appeal, the Court affirmed the trial court’s ruling.   It held that the trial Care Homes was not obligated to inform its employees they may have the right to revoke the agreement at any time.  As such, the trial court was correct to find predominate questions of law or fact did not exist. The Plaintiff also failed to prove her claims were typical of the class, another fatal flaw.

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