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excessive bathroom breaks
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excessive bathroom breaks
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Hi all, I am at my wit's end with an employee who is working on modified duty. We are going through the proper channels for a work comp injury. He reports to work for only 4 hours/day and
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Forums » Topic Forums » Legal Forum » excessive bathroom breaks
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excessive bathroom breaks
posted at 11/18/2011 3:06 PM EST
on Workforce Management
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Posts: 4
First: 11/18/2011 Last: 9/6/2012 |
Hi all, I am at my wit's end with an employee who is working on modified duty. We are going through the proper channels for a work comp injury. He reports to work for only 4 hours/day and does light work. His doctors report that he requests that they stop allowing him to work, so I know he does not want to be here. He gets a break during his 4 hour shift, but takes excessive bathroom breaks as well. In a 4 hour shift, he probably spends an hour in the bathroom broken up into 3 or 4 visits. Is this just something I should ignore? What, if anything, can I do? Maybe just need someone to talk me off the ledge with this guy... Thanks |
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Re: excessive bathroom breaks
posted at 11/18/2011 4:56 PM EST
on Workforce Management
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Posts: 173
First: 9/29/2011 Last: 2/11/2013 |
Follow your progressive discipline process to address this. Allow him the opportunity to present any ADA qualifying condition that mandates the bathroom breaks (I know, it's a major stretch but it's still a base you need to cover). |
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Re: excessive bathroom breaks
posted at 11/18/2011 5:54 PM EST
on Workforce Management
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Posts: 174
First: 9/20/2011 Last: 2/11/2013 |
In Response to excessive bathroom breaks: Hi all, I am at my wit's end with an employee who is working on modified duty. We are going through the proper channels for a work comp injury. He reports to work for only 4 hours/day and does light work. His doctors report that he requests that they stop allowing him to work, so I know he does not want to be here. He gets a break during his 4 hour shift, but takes excessive bathroom breaks as well. In a 4 hour shift, he probably spends an hour in the bathroom broken up into 3 or 4 visits. Is this just something I should ignore? What, if anything, can I do? Maybe just need someone to talk me off the ledge with this guy... Thanks Posted by Superior "His doctors report that he requests that they stop allowing him to work........." How exactly did you get the attending doctors to reveal this insight? What would happen if you just could not accomodate the light duty request? Would it be more productive for the team? What is the prognosis? How long is the "lite duty" expected to last? Maybe he would heal faster if he did not work. |
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Re: excessive bathroom breaks
posted at 11/21/2011 10:00 AM EST
on Workforce Management
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Posts: 144
First: 9/21/2011 Last: 2/8/2013 |
Are the bathroom breaks connected to the WC injury? Has the WC doctor been asked about whether the needs is precipitated by the injury? Did he need the long bathroom breaks prior to the injury? I would require him to get some type of doctors certification of need -- either due to ADA or WC. I would also talk to your WC insurance carrier/contact about how to deal with this. On one hand it could truly be a medical issue and on the other he could truly be wanting to give you just enough rope to take him off light duty (which is what he seems to want) but not enough to terminate. |
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Re: excessive bathroom breaks
posted at 11/26/2011 5:12 PM EST
on Workforce Management
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Posts: 1
First: 11/26/2011 Last: 11/26/2011 |
As you should know, the ADAAA requires you to accommodate the employee without specific consideration if he/she qualifies or not but it would focus on what you atually did or did not do as an employer... THIS IS NOT A DISCIPLINE ISSUE..moreover, you should assert the mandatory interactive process, if you are not familiar with it, read up on it..it is a mandatory process. As a strategic hr/cost consideration; It will cost the employer less to have the employee remain on duty...even if he/she has to take "excessive" breaks - claims cost will be lower in terms of avoiding disability payments..to the point he/she is working part-time, the ee would only be receiving a "wage loss" and not a full disability payment....this can factor in the cost load to your department as a savings and show the ee that you care....
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Re: excessive bathroom breaks
posted at 11/27/2011 11:31 AM EST
on Workforce Management
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Posts: 173
First: 9/29/2011 Last: 2/11/2013 |
If it is not covered by ADA, it is a discipine issue. This is also an employee who does not want to be at work - it sounds like he's only there because the WC carrier won't pay the full wc disability. I suspect that any value received from the employee actually being at work is offset by a very low rate of productivity. So that makes it a discipline issue. The problem for the employer is that disciplinary action must be considered very carefully due to the potential for a retaliation claim.
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Re: excessive bathroom breaks
posted at 11/28/2011 9:07 AM EST
on Workforce Management
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Posts: 10
First: 9/22/2011 Last: 1/20/2012 |
The missing post I referenced in my prior post:
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Re: excessive bathroom breaks
posted at 11/29/2011 11:05 AM EST
on Workforce Management
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Posts: 1
First: 11/29/2011 Last: 11/29/2011 |
I agree with robertucla. You've already won the battle you needed to win - getting him on light duty and coming to work on a regular schedule. If you try to discipline him over the bathroom break issue it's going to make your company (and yourself) look either retaliatory or petty. It's just not a battle worth fighting even though it is and can be very aggravating. Concentrate on the real victory of having him at work which is obviously where he doesn't want to be and wait until he hits his healing plateau before engaging in any serious interactive accommodation issues. With luck, he will be fully released to return to work at some point and accommodation won't be an issue. But it it becomes one (as robertucla pointed out) you will need to engage him in the interactive accommodation discussions and that won't be easy if you're already in an ongoing confrontation over the bathroom break issue. Let him win the bathroom war and save your ammo for the more important stuff. |
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