California employers have to give employees a day off in each workweek, under the Supreme Court of California’s reading of the statutes in Mendoza v. Nordstrom (2017). An employer can’t cause an employee to work all seven days of a workweek, unless an exception applies. But a run of more than six days that crosses two workweeks isn’t automatically unlawful, and an employee who knows the right and chooses to work isn’t a violation. Schedules and what managers say decide most of these claims.
What do Labor Code sections 551 and 552 require?
One day off in seven. Labor Code section 551 says “Every person employed in any occupation of labor is entitled to one day’s rest therefrom in seven.” Section 552 adds that “No employer of labor shall cause his employees to work more than six days in seven.”
The statutes date to 1937 in their current form, and they don’t come up often. When they do, it’s usually as part of a wage and hour lawsuit or a PAGA notice over scheduling. Mendoza itself was a PAGA case brought by two former retail employees, according to the opinion.
Is the day of rest measured by the workweek?
Yes. The Ninth Circuit asked the Supreme Court of California whether the day of rest applies to each workweek or to any rolling seven-day period. The court answered that it applies to each workweek, and that “Periods of more than six consecutive days of work that stretch across more than one workweek are not per se prohibited,” according to Mendoza v. Nordstrom, Inc. (2017) 2 Cal.5th 1074.
That means an employee can work, for example, the last four days of one workweek and the first four days of the next without a violation, as long as each workweek has a day off. The employer’s defined workweek matters a lot here. A company that has never written down when its workweek starts will have trouble showing which seven days count. Payroll systems usually carry a workweek setting, and it’s worth confirming that the setting, the handbook, and the schedules all match. A mismatch gives a plaintiff’s lawyer room to argue that a different seven-day period applies.
Does the part-time exemption apply?
Under the six-hour daily prong, only if the employee never works more than six hours on any day of the week. The weekly prong is less settled. Section 556 says sections 551 and 552 don’t apply “when the total hours of employment do not exceed 30 hours in any week or six hours in any one day thereof.”
The court read that language narrowly. It held that “The exemption for employees working shifts of six hours or less applies only to those who never exceed six hours of work on any day of the workweek,” according to the opinion. One longer shift during the week takes the employee outside the daily prong. The court didn’t decide whether an employee who works 30 hours or less in a week, with one longer shift, still falls within the exemption.
When does an employer “cause” seventh-day work?
When it pushes the employee to give up the day off. The court rejected both sides’ positions. Employees argued that allowing seventh-day work was enough. The employer argued it had to require or force it. The court instead said that “an employer’s obligation is to apprise employees of their entitlement to a day of rest and thereafter to maintain absolute neutrality as to the exercise of that right,” according to Mendoza.
The court explained where the line falls. “An employer may not encourage its employees to forgo rest or conceal the entitlement to rest, but is not liable simply because an employee chooses to work a seventh day,” the opinion says.
For employers, that turns the defense into a question of evidence. A schedule posted with all seven days filled, a manager who tells an employee the store needs them, or an incentive tied to working every day can each look like encouragement. A written policy telling employees about the right, and a record that the employee asked to pick up the extra shift, look like neutrality. Managers should be trained on this point, since a single text asking an employee to come in on their only day off can become the centerpiece of a PAGA claim.
| Question | Answer under Mendoza | What helps the employer |
|---|---|---|
| Rolling seven days or workweek? | Each workweek | A written, consistent workweek definition |
| Part-time exemption | Daily prong only if no shift that week tops six hours; 30-hour weekly prong left open | Timekeeping records by day |
| What “cause” means | Encouraging or concealing, not just allowing | A notice of the right and a record of the employee’s choice |
| Consecutive days across two weeks | Not automatically prohibited | Schedules showing a day off in each workweek |
Are there other exceptions?
Several. Section 554(a) says sections 551 and 552 “do not apply to cases of emergency or to work performed in the protection of life or property from loss or destruction,” and it also excludes common carriers engaged in the movement of trains. It also allows “an accumulation of days of rest when the nature of the employment reasonably requires that the employee work seven or more consecutive days, if in each calendar month the employee receives days of rest equivalent to one day’s rest in seven.”
That accumulation exception depends on whether the nature of the employment reasonably requires consecutive days. An employer that wants to rely on it should be able to explain why the work requires consecutive days and show the monthly totals of days off.
How does seventh-day overtime fit in?
It’s a separate rule. Under Labor Code section 510(a), work on “the first eight hours worked on the seventh day of work in any one workweek” is paid at time and a half, and “any work in excess of eight hours on any seventh day of a workweek shall be compensated at the rate of no less than twice the regular rate of pay of an employee.”
Paying the premium doesn’t cure a day of rest violation, and complying with the day of rest rules doesn’t excuse the premium. A plaintiff’s lawyer reviewing time records will look for both. The premium is calculated at the regular rate, which can include bonuses and other pay, as the firm’s post on the regular rate of pay explains.
After a day of rest claim or PAGA notice
- Preserve the schedules, timekeeping and payroll data, shift-swap requests, the handbook and any day of rest notice, and the emails and texts among the managers involved.
- Calendar the response deadline on the PAGA notice, demand, or lawsuit, and check for an arbitration agreement and an employment practices liability (EPLI) policy with notice terms.
- Identify the managers who built the schedules or asked employees to fill in, and stop any action against the employee that could look like retaliation.
- Pull the written workweek definition and the daily hours for each employee who worked seven days in a workweek, plus any record of who asked for the extra shifts.
- Get legal advice before responding to the notice or changing scheduling practices in a way that could be read as an admission.
Most of these claims come down to what the schedule and the timekeeping data show. More on California wage and hour defense is on the firm’s employment defense page, and its post on employee demand letters covers responding before a lawsuit.
Day of rest questions employers ask
Can an employee waive the day of rest?
Mendoza didn’t address advance written waivers. Under Mendoza, an employee who has been told about the right can independently choose to work a seventh day, and the employer isn’t liable just for allowing it. The employer can’t encourage the choice or hide the right, so a clear written notice and a record of the employee’s request are the best evidence.
Does the rule apply to exempt employees?
The statutes speak broadly, and day of rest claims tend to involve nonexempt hourly workers, since they’re the ones whose hours and schedules are tracked. Employers with exempt staff working long stretches should still look at section 554 and any applicable wage order before assuming the rule doesn’t reach them.
Do we have to pay double time on the seventh day?
Only for hours over eight on the seventh day of the workweek. The first eight hours are paid at time and a half under section 510(a). For nonexempt employees, that premium generally applies when the employee works all seven days of the workweek, whether or not the day of rest rule was violated, subject to exceptions such as alternative workweek schedules adopted under section 511.
Is a schedule with seven days in a row across two weeks a problem?
Not by itself. Mendoza held that a stretch crossing two workweeks isn’t automatically prohibited. The employer still needs a fixed workweek and records showing a day off in each one. A long stretch can also invite questions about whether managers pressured the employee, so the scheduling record matters.
If your company is facing a day of rest claim
If your company has received a PAGA notice or lawsuit over seventh-day work, the schedules and what managers told employees about their days off usually decide how much of the claim is real. Rosenberger + Kawabata represents employers defending employment lawsuits and claims through its business litigation practice, including claims involving day of rest violations and seventh-day overtime. Contact Rosenberger + Kawabata online for a confidential consultation, or call (310) 894-6921.
Sources
The statutes are Labor Code section 510, section 551, section 552, section 554, and section 556. The case is Mendoza v. Nordstrom, Inc. (2017) 2 Cal.5th 1074.
This post is general information about California and federal employment law as of November 7, 2026. It is not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Employment statutes, regulations, and court decisions change often, and the outcome of any claim depends on its facts. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.