The Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DSLE) has taken the position that the maximum number of daily hours Wage & Overtime Attorney for Southern Californiaregularly scheduled in an alternative workweek is ten hours. An exception to the 10-hour rule is expressly set forth in the wage orders for the health care industry, not to include receptionists and technical support, which permits the adoption of alternative schedules which include regular 12-hour workdays. However, Mitchell v. Yoplait, contradicts the DLSE’s current interpretation and currently permits employers outside the health care industry to adopt alternative workweek schedules which include regularly scheduled 12-hour days. To have legal alternative work schedules, employers must comply with certain procedures: 1) Employers must first propose a written plan agreement with precise schedules to adopt. The plan agreement can either propose a single, set schedule (e.g., Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. (excluding an hour meal break), or a menu of schedules options which the employees can choose from, including the standard “5/8” (five days a week, 8 hours per day) work week. Employers generally can only propose “4/10” ( four days a week, 10 hours per day) or “9/80” (80 hours spread over nine days occurring during a 14-day) schedules. 2) Employers must give employees who will be affected by alternative work schedules the opportunity to vote whether they, in fact, want the schedules to be implemented. Currently, workers can only vote for or against a menu of alternative schedules. 3) Employers must then give employees separate written disclosures explaining the anticipated effects that the schedules will have on wages, work hours, and benefits. Employers must also schedule meetings at which the anticipated effects can be discussed. 4) 14 days after the meetings, employers must hold a secret ballot election at which all affected employees can vote whether they, in fact, want the alternative schedules. At least two-thirds of the affected employees (not just the voting employees) must vote in favor of the alternative schedules in order for them to be implemented. Elections must be held during regular work hours, and at the employees’ regular work locations. 5) If more than two-thirds of the affected employees favor the alternative work schedule, employers must then report the results of the secret ballot elections (along with other specific information about the elections) to the Division of Labor Statistics and Research in San Francisco within 30 days after the results are final. Employers cannot force employees to work the new schedule immediately. The new schedule can be implemented within 30 days of the announcement of the final result of the vote. 6) Employers must make sure that their employees comply with the exact alternative schedules that were proposed and approved. The alternative workweek schedule cannot be changed, and deviating from an approved schedule may risk invalidating the entire alternative workweek altogether.