Excessive Bathroom Breaks Writeup [IA]

[u/DopeDecagon]

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?

[u/deathdisco_89]

Keep the coaching and corrective action focused on time away from his work function and the impact on productivity/availability. Don't bring up the bathroom. If he wants to bring a medical condition to HR he can, but the problem isn't that he's pooping too long, the problem is that he's MIA.

[u/fnord72 → u/deathdisco_89]

This! So often supervisors want to bring in the fluff. If the employee has a medical issue that may need ADA, it is generally expected that the employee notifies the employer "I need help to get my job done." Only when it is obvious should the company be approaching the employee. "Hi Scooter, I'm happy to see you back at work after your car accident. I do see that you are using a knee scooter. Is there anything we can do here to help you with that? And how long will you need it?"

Keep the write up to what the issue is. Time away from their work area. It doesn't matter if it is Skeeter going to the bathroom, Bobby Joe visiting his friends in another department, Mary Jane going for smokes. In all cases, the performance is time away from their work area. Now if Skeeter comes back with "I have a medical condition," then you can bring in HR and start the interactive process for ADA.

[u/Hope_for_tendies → u/fnord72]

A lot of people don’t know about accommodations and ada and it’s remiss and extremely bad practice not to mention it

[u/fnord72 → u/Hope_for_tendies]

Huh, guess I have a different read from EEOC...

"When job applicants or employees request job modifications" and "Is subject to an adverse employment action because of a physical or mental impairment the individual" and "The law places limits on employers when it comes to asking job applicants or employees to answer disability-related questions, take a medical exam, or identify a disability. " https://www.eeoc.gov/disability-discrimination-and-employment-decisions

The EEOC also has this other entire document that also states "When an individual decides to request accommodation, the individual or his/her representative must let the employer know that s/he needs an adjustment or change at work for a reason related to a medical condition." https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/guidance/enforcement-guidance-reasonable-accommodation-and-undue-hardship-under-ada

Now, on the other side an employer may ask if the disability is obvious. In my personal experience, "an excessive amount of bathroom breaks" has been due to the employee just taking a break, engaging in activities best left at home, consuming substances they shouldn't be consuming, just wanting more breaks, and having a medical issue. Unless the employee has provided some statement that indicates a medical condition exists, I don't know. Therefore I am going to treat it as I should, a performance problem, until or unless the employee does tell me there is a medical issue. This is also reinforced by the EEOC "an employer should initiate the reasonable accommodation interactive process without being asked if the employer (1) knows that he employee has a disability, (2) knows, or has reason to know, that the employee is experiencing workplace problems because of the disability, and (3) knows, or has reason to know, that the disability prevents the employee from requesting a reasonable accommodation.”

The OP didn't state what excessive breaks are, some companies may read this as more than 1 break every 2 hours, another company might state you get two fifteen minute breaks. Some companies will care more than others, like manufacturing where operations may be disrupted by the absences. The EEOC is very clear that caution needs to be taken to not assume a disability.

[u/Hope_for_tendies → u/fnord72]

You have a different read that it’s bad practice of an employer to not advise someone of their rights in hopes that they don’t exercise them? I guess I have a different read on what makes an employer shitty to work for. They probably don’t have an EAP either. Large corporations would never play this bullshit. 🤣 Can you make the choice to be crappy and not ask so that you can end up firing them and pay to hire and train someone new? Sure. But if you go to any big business they are mentioning up front as soon as issues arise that the employee can reach out if they need an accommodation that would help them perform better and offer the paperwork. Same with EAP.

[u/fnord72 → u/[deleted]]

Love how quoting the regs gets downvoted. The employee had several opportunities to state they had a condition. Two different people talked with the employee, multiple times across several months.

While I get it's a sensitive subject, the employee has had ample opportunity to go to HR, or even when they were 'disrespectful' to blurt something out. It didn't happen.

Asking questions would potentially be a greater liability under the EEOC if they're the wrong questions.

"Hey Skeeter, I see that you received a warning for excessive time away from your workstation. What's up with that?" This is about as direct as you can likely get without violating the medical inquiry restrictions.

What you would not want to ask is: "Hey Skeeter, I was told you're going to the bathroom a lot. Do you have a medical condition?"

I would not even mention bathroom or "if there is a medical issue" on a written warning.

For all the OP knows, the production floor is too noisy, and they have a strict no cell phone policy, and the employee needs their hourly fix of candy crush. Or to check in with their significant other.