Hernandez

Plaintiff and appellant Rogelio Hernandez (Hernandez) appeals from the order denying his motion for class certification and granting the motion to deny class certification of defendant and respondent Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (Chipotle). We hold that the trial court did not abuse its discretion and affirm. In doing so, we conclude that employers must provide employees with breaks, but need not ensure employees take breaks.

Chipotle is a fast-food restaurant chain, currently employing about 3,000 hourly employees in its approximately 130 California restaurants. All Chipotle employees are nonexempt, hourly workers entitled to overtime compensation when earned, including managers, except for the salaried position of "restaurateur." Each Chipotle restaurant is managed by either a restaurateur or a general manager. Some employees move in and out of supervisory roles. For example, employees may be responsible for scheduling meal and rest breaks on some shifts and weeks, but not on others. The average Chipotle employee earns $8.37 per hour. The number of employees at each Chipotle restaurant varies from 18 to 40. Also, staffing patterns and work shift lengths vary from…