The purpose of this rulemaking is to clarify the meal and rest break rules as a result of current law such as Wingert v. Yellow Freight, 146 Wn.2d 841 (2002) and Alvarez v. IBP, 339 F.3d 894 (9th Cir. 2003). The rulemaking is to potentially address the department’s interpretation and enforcement position on various aspects of the regulation, most of which are covered in the current policy, ES.C.6, as well as to address concerns expressed by employers and employees. Rulemaking is needed so that employees and employers understand their rights and duties, respectively, for meal and rest periods.597.

The purpose of the rulemaking is to incorporate current administrative policies into the child labor rules at the request of the Employment Law Advisory Committee (ELAC). The rules were also reviewed and amended for clarity of ease of use. A number of changes are necessary to update the state regulations to be compatible with federal law and to remove jeopardy for Washington employers.505.