Store policy regarding bathroom breaks has employees questioning what work-life is coming to

Respectful working conditions are essential for employees to do their best work. They also need to remain healthy and safe as they complete their tasks. However, some workplaces make it impossible for employees to do the most basic things without breaking the "rules." A similar incident came to light when a person on Reddit, u/CobblerSad6055, shared a policy few Walmart stores have implemented for their employees' bathroom breaks and it has left people on the internet quite shocked.

The policy read, "Clarification on bathroom breaks: Those are supposed to take place during your meal or 15-minute breaks, not during shift or before/after meal or break." The post continued, "We will be addressing each individual and proceeding with the appropriate discipline as this is job performance impacting." Next up, there was a clarification on 15-minute breaks. "They are 15 minutes, no more, no less. Your break should start when you leave your register. You must remove your vest while on break per Walmart policy," read the notice. The manager, who signed off as Coach Ben, added, "Not one moment of your break should occur in a working area. Once again, we will address each individual." Ben also stated that meals were supposed to last for exactly one hour unless the person had asked for more time beforehand.

"Please observe all policies surrounding breaks and meals. By extending your breaks, you are impacting the timeliness of other associates' breaks and meals," Ben remarked. "This causes issues for your team and customers. We will not be tolerating it anymore." He expressed, "Thank you for all you do for the company as well as our customers. Our customers deserve the best and we can do that through careful coordination and timely breaks from our team." The note ended with, "Please note that we care for you and operate in a way that is best for our entire team and customers." People took to the comments section of the post to express their opinions on the policy.

u/megavikingman commented, "'Your break should start when you leave your register' and 'Not one moment of your break should occur in a working area.' So what, you're supposed to instantly teleport to the breakroom from your register?" u/reala728 wrote, "Seriously wild to me that employers still try to pull this so frequently. It's legally a right and nobody can fight you on this unless you're caught lying about using that time for the restroom or if it's truly in excess, in which case, you can get a doctor's note to bypass any further issues." u/KronicTopic shared, "Had a manager try telling a group of us we had to 'sign out' and get permission to use the restroom. The speed at which HR came out when they found out was astonishing. They were none too pleased and made sure everyone knew when you had to go, YOU GO."

u/BeBraveShortStuff remarked, "The number of people who think they can policy their way around employment laws is wild. I tried to tell our HR person that salaried employees are not automatically exempt and that there are specific tests that have to be met. She argued with me because she consulted some websites. She thought the website trumped the law. She also thought she could fire someone for not being a team player because the person didn’t drink alcohol. I left that place, just waiting for them to get sued for wage theft for not paying overtime. They’re already being sued for other stuff."