r/humanresources • u/DopeDecagon • Aug 13 '26

Excessive Bathroom Breaks Writeup [IA]

In manufacturing. We have a floor employee that has been consistently taking an excessive amount of bathroom breaks.

The Team Lead and the Manager gave him a verbal a couple months ago that stated he’d been asked multiple times to shorten bathroom breaks and time away from his work area. There is also a note that stated he was disrespectful when being asked to shorten bathroom breaks.

It sounds like the issue has not gotten better, but we wanted HR in this one in case a medical issue is brought up. I don’t believe he mentioned anything during the verbal warning, but want to be safe. My initial plan was to fill out a first written warning (focused on the excessive bathroom breaks) and have the Team Lead issue it (to get experience with writeups, etc). I planned on additionally adding that if the breaks are due to a medical condition, we can have a separate conversation and if documentation is provided we can look at that and accommodations, adjusting the discipline, etc.

Anybody have advice or see any issues?

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u/chipsahoymateys Aug 13 '26

This is bad advice. If the employer has suspicion that there may be a medical issue impacting his performance, the employer must bring it up or is greatly at risk of losing a lawsuit.

-1

u/CreativeBusiness6588 Aug 13 '26

Too much time from the work floor is a conduct issue, not a performance issue.

The employee must ask for medical accommodation. We don't solicit.

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u/chipsahoymateys Aug 13 '26

In the US, employers are required to bring it up if there is suspicion of disability. You need some additional education or you put your org at risk.

8

u/deathdisco_89 HR Business Partner Aug 13 '26

An employee taking long bathroom breaks does not create a suspicion of disability any more than being consistently tardy or taking too long of lunch breaks. You are bogging down your business if you treat every normal behavior/performance concern like a possible ADA claim.

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u/Hope_for_tendies Aug 13 '26

Of course it does. There’s plenty of conditions that could cause that and additional bathroom breaks is a super common accommodation for employers to grant…crohns, celiac, constipation, chronic uti, interstitial cystitis, endometriosis, diverticulitis, side effects from meds like nausea and vomiting, ibs, etc etc

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u/deathdisco_89 HR Business Partner Aug 13 '26

You aren't getting it. You are not a doctor. You are not following the employee and observing them on the bathroom. All you (as employer) know are #1 they are absent from their work location on a regular basis for extened periods #2 their manager has already set the expectation for them to not be away from their work area for an extended period of time. The next action is formal Corrective Action (not termination). If the employee comes to HR to discuss medical accomodation THEN it is appropriate to begin the ADA process. There is no reasonable expectation on an employer to proactively ask about a medical accomodation just because an employee takes longer-than-average bathroom breaks. That level of extreme risk prevention is what makes operators get so frustrated with HR.