How have courts dealt with allegations of unfair dismissal and/or non-payment of a plaintiff's meal and rest breaks?

In Washington v. Joe's Crab Shack, 271 F.R.D. 629 (N.D. Cal. 2010), the plaintiff alleged wage and hour violations, including untimely meal and rest breaks, and provided declarations of six putative class members. Id. at 633-34. These declarations were contradicted by declarations provided by the defendant. Id. For example, 19 of the defendant's declarants reported the defendant "made meal and rest breaks available, but that they sometimes (or always) chose not to take them." Id. at 634. In addition, most of the declarants reported "they have never been asked to work off-the-clock." Id. Although the court found the plaintiff' established a common questionwhether the

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