In: Operations Management
Is it Fair to Dock Employees’ Pay for Bathroom Breaks?
Consider a company whose employees include both smokers and nonsmokers. The smokers take numerous paid smoking breaks, while the nonsmokers do not. Is there an ethical issue here? Discuss.
As per the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) all the breaks which are under 20 minutes need to be paid by the employer. So if the employee goes to the washroom, then as per the law, the employer cannot deduct the salary of the individual as long as he or she returns to the work within 20 min
When we talk about the smoker and non-smoker, then, in this case, it is not ethical to provide more brakes to the smokers while the non-smokers get involved in their work In order to overcome this situation. This situation indicated that the smokers are paid even for their less working hours as they spend their time in smoking while the non-smokers still work .
The organization must have the maximum limit on the number of breaks an employee has. This should include both the washroom visits and visits to the smoking zone. This will help in neutralizing the variation in the number of breaks taken by the smokers and non-smokers.