Bearden v. U.S. Borax, Inc., 138 Cal. App. 4th 429 (2006)
Plaintiffs worked 12.5 hour shifts in defendant?s mine operations, but were given only one 30-minute meal break per shift. They then brought suit against their employer for not providing adequate meal and rest periods. U.S. Borax successfully demurred, arguing that an exception in Wage Order No. 16 relieved it of the obligation to provide a second meal period to employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement. The Court of Appeal reversed and held that the IWC had exceeded its authority when it created the exemption from meal period requirements in Section 10(E) of Wage Order No. 16. The Court reasoned that the quasi-legislative Wage Order exemption went beyond the exemptions expressly set forth in Labor Code section 512.

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