In Brown v. Fed. Express Corp., 249 F.R.D. 580, class certification was denied to a subclass of drivers who were allegedly denied meal and rest breaks. The drivers claimed they were put under excessive pressure by their employer to make deliveries as quickly as possible, requiring the drivers to forego meal breaks as required by state law.
The federal court held that an employer?s obligation is to provide meal periods by making them available to employees, and to not force their employees to work through such breaks. Looking to the California Supreme Court?s decision in Murphy v. Kenneth Cole Prods., Inc., 40 Cal.4th 1094 (2007) for support, the district court held, ?[I]t is an employer's obligation to ensure that its employees are free from its control for thirty minutes, not to ensure that the employees do any particular thing during that time.? Because there was no evidence of any particular policy susceptible to common proof that showed that Fed Ex drivers were affirmatively prevented from taking required breaks, class certification was denied.

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