The California Supreme Court has ruled that employers cannot be held responsible if workers do not take breaks. The lawsuit, which was brought in 2004, concerned workers who said that their employers made it logistically impossible for them to take their legally mandated breaks. The Court said that the employer has to provide the breaks, but does not have to make sure workers use them. The Court also prohibited employers from discouraging or stopping workers from taking breaks. Many said that the ruling would hurt workers, and encourage more abuses from employers. Others said that the ruling would end frivolous lawsuits, and that employers had no way of enforcing breaks.
See "Employers not liable if workers skip breaks, court rules", Maura Dolan and Tiffany Hsu, Los Angeles Times, April 12, 2012