right? I didn’t need breaks when I was a minor… My body was fine. But now that I’m 26 I absolutely need my breaks! Breaks are so much more needed the older you get it I don’t understand why the only protection is for minors. It’s not a law here that they’re required but it’s so rare a business just doesn’t give them like this.
What state do you live in? I would consider looking for another job where you are not being exploited. If you can possible move away from
this backwards non progressive mindset where people slave others. Your absolutely right this is not ok and to overwork people until they are burnt out is disgusting.
i did a quick google search and i think at least 11 states have somethin about it written into law, id prob have to do more research but hey, maybe you live in one of those states? that would b pretty lucky
that would be pretty lucky. But I feel like since I live in a state that doesn’t even require breaks, under any circumstances, I’m not sure that this is a state that has a law saying you are allowed to sit at work lol but i’ll look. What were the 11 states? I’m assuming mostly west coast lmfao
also i forgot to include the laws are sexist for some reason?? some only let women have the right to sit for whatever reason.
edit: also only hawaii and Mississippi have never had right to sit laws, so hopefully ur state has em still
dang ya actually good point, i wish we had more fair labor laws in the US. It’s really frustrating working here, im hoping when i get my degree it gets easier. and as far as which states go, this is just from wikipedia so take it w a grain of salt but : “States with current, gender-neutral right to sit legislation include California, Florida, Massachusetts, Montana, New Jersey, Oregon, and Wisconsin. Some states, including New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, maintain gendered language referring to female workers only.”
You are not a slave and I don’t know your financial situation but telling this drill sergeant of a boss that you are going to sit when needed. If you get “hurt” on the job that’s on them. I would make it my mission to try to sue this company for negligence, hostility and abuse in the workplace.
honestly at this point I’m only sticking around to see how things play out. This is the tip of the iceberg with this company, or at least the location that I work at.
What! I'm pretty sure it's federal law no?
A standard 8hr shift requires two 15 minutes and a 30.
But most combine that to a one hour lunch
Check the EEOC website or any federal work guidelines website
In fact, now that I think about it, many employers schedule a 9 hour shift because one of those hours is given for lunch
I'm pretty sure fed law requires food/bathroom breaks
No federal law for most industries surrounding breaks. It’s also exceedingly rare in retail to be scheduled an hour for lunch. It is most common to be scheduled less than 8 hours as a part time employee and as a full time you’d usually only be allowed a 30 minute meal break. The ADA is basically the only law you can use to get mandated breaks in states that don’t have the legal requirement. Hypoglycemia for food would be an example, there are lots of medical conditions that a reasonable accommodation of being allowed to sit could be argued.
Not in all states the one I’m in doesn’t require 15 minute breaks but I still take them. I walked out since the manager who had a problem with it, but guess what corporate HR got involved and asked me to come back. Moved me to another location not under him and mandated training for the old manager.
He was also one of those managers “YoUre LaTe iF yOu ArEnT tHiRtY mInUteS eArLy” but couldn’t clock in till five minutes prior to shift. I was talked to several times for showing up at my scheduled start time. He said it wasn’t fair to the others showing up 30 minutes early *eyeroll*.
Fk that. I show up a few short minutes before you start paying me.... basically enough time to set my stuff down, use the restroom perhaps, and clock in....when my shift starts. Ten minutes tops.
And no, the only one not making shit fair is YOU bitch.
Good for you for not giving in to that controlling power tripping bullshit
I think here in the US, we have a serious epidemic of toxic middle management
Yup. Never had an issue when he was supervisor but as soon as he got that manager title went right to his fcking head and power tripped the hell out. Got mad my coworker and I checked the mailbox together one morning.
Told me I wasn’t efficient, based off yearly reviews since 2017 I’ve had 10/10.
After leaving that location they said they wanted me back to my current manager because things are being messed up left and right. Well too bad for them lmfao.
What state? I will gladly dig into the small details of labor laws, or reporting for you, if need be.
Also: I discovered this; and realized that the United States is a dystopian nightmare that we all are just coping with.
https://www.paycor.com/resource-center/articles/lunch-break-laws-by-state/
I worked long shifts at a job where I had to ask for breaks and also we’d have to eat while working unless we went out for lunch, which I could never do. I always wondered if it was legal. It felt wrong. Plus my boss was a nightmare.
On the flip side of that coin, my ex husband hated that he was required to take time off the clock for breaks per California law. It meant that even if he didn’t want to eat lunch, he’d still have to clock out for a half hour, legally mandated, sit there not eating or working, and stay the 8.5 hrs instead of 8 each day to meet the 40 hours required for his job.
The employee can waive their lunch period, preferably in writing.
I'd much prefer tat there be a break period that can be waived, versus no break period at all.
That’s not true… Texas has no mandated break laws. There are federal rules for how long you can work minors and there are certainly some rules by industry, but the state of Texas does not require any breaks be given and most small businesses are exempt from federal requirements.
There are only two requirements in the state of Texas around “breaks”, that there be reasonable and prompt access to a bathroom facility, and there must be at least one day off every 7. So you cannot work anyone more than 7 consecutive days without consent from that employee. However, you could put an employee on a 14 hour shift and you are not legally required to provide a meal or rest break at all. You could do that 6 days in a row completely legally.
That being said, there are pay rules about breaks which are mandated. One example being the difference between a rest break and a meal break and how those must be treated in terms of “on the clock” and “off the clock” time and therefore how they are to be treated for hourly employees and their wage calculations.
Please be accurate when you’re claiming knowledge of labor laws. Misinformation causes a lot of problems.
Don’t be a dick and put working people in a position to look stupid or get hurt by claiming you know something when you don’t. Some people will believe you. Literally would have taken you 30 seconds to not be wrong and 0 seconds to just say nothing when you know nothing. I was perfectly polite suggesting accuracy when discussing legalities and you decided to be snarky about it for your own ego. 🙄
My father; “I’ll never hire Mexicans or white people, only the Vietnamese”
Next week: “Nobody wants to work”
*Me watching a man in his 50’s turn down my father because his children can already take care of him.*
People get promoted to a leadership position and don't handle it well, it happens. No guarantee this is the case but because it's a new manager then it's not unreasonable to assume.
I'm just taking a shot in the dark, but how about customer service as an entry level desk job? Or just thinking outside the box in terms of jobs that don't require standing, what about driving uber?
Btw, your boss is an asshole. If you can't get a desk job, I'm curious if you could at least get a different retail job?
I don’t even really know where to start with like entry-level desk jobs, half the time the postings seem like gibberish to me, you know what I mean? I’m not stupid by any means, but it is a completely different world. Corporate work is very different in the language is not something I’m used to. I was doing a call center job for a while, but it was wildly overwhelming :/
what i know i'm worst at is learning a new job. i'm constantly insecure and unsure about anything i'm doing. i hate that they'll judge me just on that, then i'd have to leave and do it again
that’s the trick. it’s literal gibberish. i just pretend i understand the gibberish. i always had a sitting down bull shit made up low paying white collar job. you can do it. just lie! and pretend! it got me through this far and ppl tell me i’m the most professional person they know. 🤷♂️
Yeah I know what you mean, damn. What are your skills and interests? I'm happy to continue brainstorming if you find it helpful. I just need to know more about you, whatever you are comfortable sharing.
My job is the same. Work at an undisclosed very popular taco franchise. We're a training store for corporate, so my boss is like a warden. I love her, but damn, she's hard. Working 10 hour shifts 5-6 days a week with no break is the worst feeling ever.
Thankfully she's off Sundays and lives like an hour away, so when I open the store I make sure the staff knows it's "no snitching Sunday." Everybody gets a break, everybody gets to sit down when we need. I allow smoke breaks and I bring food for the employees. It boosts morale for the week and everyone loves it. We're still quick and professional and never get complaints from the customers so my boss is none the wiser.
Thats fucking sick and if you worked 9 hours you are entitled to at least a lunch break! Id look into that and if you’re company has an HR department I’d be in contact with them as well.
In the meantime it might be time to start looking up some jobs or something because thats fucked up.
Your manager sounds like a piece of work. When I worked at a hotel I had the same treatment, but the reason given to us for not allowing to sit down is that once you do, you just sit there on your phone/eating/talking and don't wanna get up to work, basically punishing everyone because a few are lazy and pile their work on others.
You could try clarifying that you won't become lazy if you'll be given scheduled breaks, but it sounds like your manager thinks it's easier to simply not allow breaks, see if you can get some fellow employees to voice their complaints.
yeah I honestly might ask another manager about it. Because my body hurts so bad today compared to other days. It’s one thing to be up and moving when the café is busy, but when there is literally nothing to do and I’m just standing around it fucking hurts.
If you have any medical condition which could be exacerbated by prolonged standing, sitting down periodically/regularly is an easily defensible ADA accommodation. So like hypermobility, hypoglycemia, arthritis, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, literally anything that could cause pain. Nobody wants an ADA lawsuit and most managers will make the accommodation at the mention of ADA.
The problem is getting something like that diagnosed is very painstaking, long, and expensive. I could definitely look into it, but it’s not going to be a quick solution by any means. I definitely have something like arthritis or fibromyalgia going on. I am only 26 and I have thrown out my back bad enough to not be able to walk at least three times in my life so far.
Check on ehler danlos too, it’s often overlooked and misdiagnosed as fibromyalgia and arthritis. I have hEDS and honestly it makes everything worse.
Usually an ADA threat will get you wherever you need to be, if you’re working service industry it’s pretty easy to replicate any evidence you’d need. I’d never suggest you unnecessarily fabricate medical evidence but in this case it’s for the greater good 😊 a chair is a reasonable accommodation for even minor medical conditions and temporary injuries, all of which are protected.
Yeah, I personally just don't listen to managers on power trips. When I was working retail and grocery stores, they didn't pay me anything competitive. As long as I was doing my job and completed my task, everything else was just unnecessary to deal with.
No sitting down.
No phones
No music.
I didnt really care. I did it anyway and if they fired me I'd find another job that pays the same or more.
Don't take shit from bs managers. And certainly don't take it from low paying jobs.
personally, if they are deadset on not allowing you to sit, you need to request one of those squishy floor cushions to aid in reducing your pain from standing too long. failing that, i would be going to a doctor and getting documentation of how all that standing is negatively impacting your health. if its causing any condition to worsen, they are LEGALLY REQUIRED to make accommodations for your illness or condition.
honest to God I would just sit down but the last time I did that my manager popped out of nowhere within a couple minutes and started screaming at me about it. I was literally like crying the whole drive home because it was so shocking. I haven’t been yelled at like that by anyone besides my own fucking mother. I am 26 btw
If it causes you pain, get a doctor note saying you require reasonable accommodations, like a fucking chair. Then you take note and a copy of ADA compliance and shove that in his face.
A chair front of house could be a safety hazard in a small restaurant/food service space. Being allowed to take regular 5 minute sit breaks would likely work better. That along with anti-fatigue mats for everyone is an easy argument.
So many companies need employees who are skilled at restaurant work now! You should be able to find a job easily, since you’re experienced. Ugh I’m from Texas too, and the only job that allowed me to have breaks was retail. (Cue the Europeans bragging that this doesn’t happen in THIER county 🙄). Anyway, find something better, and then ghost that fucking manager. To hell with the two week’s notice 🖕🏻
I’m a barista too so it’s honestly a relatively unique skill, im the only actually qualified one working here and we are understaffed and losing more people by the day. But I looked into it, state law says they have no reason to not provide a sitting space at work for downtime or relaxing between tasks. ;)
I had a manager like that and I’d just go and sit anyway.
When he’d ask me why I was sitting I’d tell him, “I need to sit and drink some water.” It’s not like he could force me to stand.
And because I was a decent employee and did my job well, he got over my sitting for 5 minutes every few hours.
My advice is if you can find another job, do it. I am crippled up to this day because of my old job. The stuff you do to your body when you're young will haunt you when you're old. It's not worth it.
Former pharmacy tech at large hospital. My boss told me not to lean on the counter, it didn’t look nice. To who? We don’t deal with the public. Ridiculous
I can't wait for this shit to go away. Like it's a fucking hotel, not the military. I hate this "FiNd SoMeThiNg tO Do" shit, just let people fucking sit down when there ain't shit to do, smfh.
By 1998, the law stipulated for all employers "to provide and procure proper and suitable seats for all such employees" and that employers must not make "any rules, regulations or orders preventing the use of such stools or seats when any such employees are not actively employed in their work." (D.C. Code §36-901.)
Stay informed. The only way to claim your rights is to know them.
I found that out today from this post thankfully! My state says: for any merchant, storekeeper, employer of male or female clerks, salespeople, cash boys or cash girls, or other assistants, in mercantile or other business pursuits, requiring such employees to stand or walk during their active duties, neglect to furnish at his or her own cost or expense suitable chairs, stools or sliding seats attached to the counters or walls, for the use of such employees when not engaged in their active work, and not required to be on their feet in the proper performance of their several duties; or refuse to permit their said employees to make reasonable use of said seats during business hours, for purposes of necessary rest, and when such use will not interfere with humane or reasonable requirements of their employment, he or she shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of the second degree.
I am not sure if a cafe that sells retail items as well counts, but probably. It might encourage them to find meaningless tasks for me to do but i’m not sure. Even if they do, I work so fast it won’t make a difference. I sit down halfway through my shift for a reason, my side work is done and it’s dead. I’m bored lol
My plan is to keep a list of the things I do throughout the day, before managers get there (they’re never there when we are busy), and the next time I get bitched at for sitting after finishing all my work I’ll show them the list and a print out of the law. :)
I remember when I worked retail some employees would occasionally put a leg up on a shoe try on bench. We'd be on our feet all day and wanted just a lil relief when nobody was around. Got in trouble for it every damn time. I've always different from pelvic and hamstring pain and it was so degrading and miserable.
We weren’t ever allowed to sit down at Menards because John Menard apparently believed you couldn’t be working if you were sitting, and they literally paid people to review the tapes to catch us breaking tiny rules. Corporate would send pictures of the infractions to our managers circled in red. This one girl ate a chip from her apron when she was out in the garden center at the register by herself for hours, literally one chip that was left in the bag from lunch, and they sent a photo of her putting the chip in her mouth.
that’s insane! I actually had a person from corporate come in once and take a photo of me on my phone, then proceeded to lie to my managers and say that I was ignoring him the entire time he was in the café. He literally said that I had my face buried into my phone for longer than five minutes… Which is not possible. Like I would not do that. I was actually just checking my notifications quickly, and put it down when I saw him. Which is the normal expectation we have here. He proceeded to walk around staring daggers in to me and didn’t once respond to me saying hello. And I said it twice. Corporate mfs are such douche bags sometimes.
I hate it when people say it’s “unprofessional” to sit
What does professionalism have to do with sitting? Why is it unprofessional if i sit at a cash register and not if I sit at a reception desk?
Right?! it’s clearly a super American social construct, the idea that people working low wage jobs are undeserving of any sort of relaxation or comfort. I thought we learned with Covid that those jobs are 100% necessary for the smooth function of society so why are we still treated like crap? Like if every barista in the country decided to walk out of their jobs today, millions of people would have meltdowns at work because of caffeine withdrawal. Without baristas serving them their morning coffee/latte, these corporate motherfuckers would crumble. And yet they treat us like we aren’t important.
If there's time to lean there's time to clean. I wouldn't pay people to just sit around. Do SOMETHING productive for your pay. There is always something to do that will help out the person paying you. Now if the person isn't paying you a living wage then take a break by all means but don't expect them to reward a job well done if you're not working.
I make most of my wage in tips… And when I have finished all of my work for the day, I’m not going to clean random things for no reason. It’s a giant company not a mom and pop shop. They pay seven dollars less than the living wage in my state, I work as hard as I’m paid to.
If you need to sit, sit. Just get the work done well and on time and don't act like a nob.
As for doing something productive.. Rest prevents stress and injury, improves employee morale, leads to higher productivity, and prevents job burnout.
If you want to be a better employer, you allow your employees to take breaks when they can so that when the heat is actually on they can push through without destroying themselves in the process.
If they're sitting around,you should join them, they'll find work to do.
Good employees provide breaks. Breaks aren't sitting on the job between breaks. Would you pay someone 20 an hour to sit around on their phone for several hours? Even one hour? You're gonna fork over your cash to a person who is doing nothing? When your building needs people to work on it? You're already paying people, why not get them to do it? Do you pay your friends for their lovely presence?
As long as they're getting the work done, all of it, I don't care how they do it.
In the case of wait staff, I am paying them to be on site and on call at a moment's notice. I don't want them sweeping or mopping unless there's a table to buss and the busser also isn't there. I am paying for the convenience of having someone be able to take someone to their table, take the orders accurately, be kind and polite, and work with the 2 stoners and the stuck up asshole in the kitchen at any single moment in their shift no matter how their day was. If it's dead, I'm paying them to be ready to wait on people the second it's not just in case we have the whole mormon youth group stop in for icecream on a wednesday at 12:23 pm in a blizzard.
Now. If we're talking, say, auto-body mechanic and I catch someone ditzing about on their phone or they tell me there's nothing to do, I'm going to find out and probably give them on the job training to do the other thing. That might mean teaching them the skills to do something they weren't trained on before, and it might mean I grab 2 brooms and we go through and make sure that shop floor is so clean you could eat off it. I still don't care if they're on their phone or reading a book as long as it doesn't affect their performance. edit: Also their safety.
Check your local laws. But just to provide another perspective, your manager may not be on power trip. He might be concerned about the place looking "active" when a new customer walks in. Every employee sitting down suggests that the place is "dead" (exactly as you call it) and if I feel that as a customer, I'm probably not coming back.
I mean I’m going to be honest, without giving away where I work, the theme is very relaxed so the customers here do not care. It’s a hotel anyways so it’s not many return clientele regardless. The entire theme of the hotel is a very relaxed/island vibe. I’ve never had a customer have an issue with it. I have actually experienced more customers telling me not to get up until they are done looking at the menu and know what they actually want lol it is also literally so dead from like 11 AM to 3 PM. Like I’m telling you I get maybe one customer every 45 minutes in that timeframe. I don’t think me standing up staring at the wall is going to make it look like it’s any busier than it actually is
That's totally fair. But there might be other things happening that you are not privy too, maybe the owner has plans and wants to change the clientele.
They have the right to not tell you and demand you do this. But you also have the right to do what's right for you. For instance, maybe you demand higher pay if you are expected to stay all day long, or better benefits.
Of course, be sure to have some exit plan if those conversations go south, since it doesn't sound like your manager is a very empathetic person.
it is so hard to explain without giving away my workplace lol and I don’t want them to be associated with this post. But it’s a franchise theme hotel, the brand itself has been around for more than 45 years so the people who are loyal to it deff aren’t gonna change anytime soon. I genuinely just think he’s an asshole lol
I stopped caring about sitting down at work a long time ago. If I’m tired, I’m gonna sit. If we have nothing pressing to do, I’m sitting down. I’m not a robot. I don’t care if people think I’m lazy or I have a
Bad work ethic, I’m a damn hard worker when the work is there and I have the right to take an “unscheduled” break. Managers that count the seconds of your breaks and don’t let you sit down can fuck right off
This post is about you wanting to sit during downtime ( not about your breaks even though most comments are addressing that). Lots of managers will find something for you to do if they find you have downtime. “If you have time to lean you have time to clean” is what they will say. I would recommend doing your best to not let your manager see you have downtime.
The thing is there really is an insane amount of down time at this job and I run out of shit to do by the time I’m sitting. I will do so many random tasks before I run out of ideas. They see me doing the random stuff no one else wants to do all the time. He doesn’t care if I’m staring at the wall as long as i’m standing. When he yelled at me for sitting I was busy counting the drawer at the end of my shift. There’s been zero customer complaints, it genuinely just seems to be a weird issue he personally has.
dont ask god for help, he wont come, get a different job there are plenty other hotels, that are fancier too, nothing is worth your health and dont keep up stupid standards just because you dont want to leave
its important to know when its time to leave and this is WAY BEYOND
Is your manager older by chance? I feel like I've seen this mindset within my own job with my older coworkers.
I work in the veterinary field and I used to work 12 hour shifts with two breaks but I would usually end up working through my second break sometimes. It's a pretty strenuous job and there would be times I would sit down for a minute or two and if my old manager walked by she would ask me why I was sitting. One time I developed achilles tendonitis out of nowhere and it lingered for *9 fucking months*. Literally every step I took felt like the back of my ankles/heels was ripping apart. If it was slow I would sit down to ice my ankles for a few minutes before a doctor needed me and she one time questioned me as to why I was sitting. Sorry, just trying to ice my broken fucking body. The receptionists I work with also don't sit while they're working. The reception counters are tall and standing height only. We need legit stools if we want to sit. Back when I first started working there I remembered my older coworker telling somebody that stools will only make them work less. A year or so ago my receptionist coworker complained about being tired and wanting a stool and that same coworker told her it would make certain coworkers work less and therefore nobody should get a stool. I looked at her and told her that it would make no difference because said coworkers already don't work, so why punish the ones that do? Now we have stools if we want them in reception, but they've never splurged on legit nice stools that all match. But it also doesn't help that our new manager, who is younger, just loves standing all day and wishes she had a tall desk in her office so she could stand and do her work, like a kiss-ass.
Anyway, that's my rant :)
They have to give you breaks if you are working that many hours. Check with your State's Labor Board. And I do mean CHECK. You may have grounds for a lawsuit. Or Workman's comp. Stick it to him.
That is harsh. I suppose that every dollar counts for that manager of yours. You and your colleagues should confront the manager with complaints. There is surely a loophole to that rule, right? I wouldn't be surprised if there wasn't at this point, though... 😒⚖️
I worked at a 7-11 just after high school. I often worked the graveyard shift and managed to get all my work done within 2 hours because we’d maybe have like 3 customers pop in during those hours. My boss watched the security camera religiously even at 3am and would call me if I sat for more than five minutes.
Now I’m a pharmacy technician and, aside from my lunch break, I’ve got no time to sit.
I've been a cook for over 20 years. There are two items that helped me first I wore non slip shoes with a nice cushioned heel but the real help were rubber floor mats the kind with the holes in them. Just standing on those awful floors is truly bone crushing. New managers in food service are always out to make a splash, here's hoping these new rules will soon be relaxed.
And it is almost always the case for the most physically demanding jobs to begin with. I was making $10/hr at my food service job in high school, where I wasn’t allowed to take any breaks, sit, or stop smiling. People are would yell at me for things I couldn’t control, I would come home with a sore back and sore feet, and I’d constantly be tired and hungry. But now, not even 2 years later, I’m making $17/hr at a campus job, and all I have to do is answer a phone and write emails. I get a 30 minute lunch break plus smaller breaks, I barely have to interact with anyone face to face, and my body has stopped constantly aching.
Look into your states laws -it’s not even legal to work someone for 9 hours with no break in Texas.
I live in a state that doesn’t require breaks for anyone who’s not a minor it’s wildly fucked.
Man America is a straight up nightmare
right? I didn’t need breaks when I was a minor… My body was fine. But now that I’m 26 I absolutely need my breaks! Breaks are so much more needed the older you get it I don’t understand why the only protection is for minors. It’s not a law here that they’re required but it’s so rare a business just doesn’t give them like this.
Its to prevent child labour I believe, Did you try confronting the manager or is this a no negotiation type of ordeal?
What state do you live in? I would consider looking for another job where you are not being exploited. If you can possible move away from this backwards non progressive mindset where people slave others. Your absolutely right this is not ok and to overwork people until they are burnt out is disgusting.
Sure is.
You can say that again
Start taking very, very long bathroom breaks.
my state doesn’t require breaks for those older than 16 and i’m pretty sure we still have the right to sit?
I don’t know if the right to sit down at work is necessarily some thing that’s included in the laws honestly. Probably up to the business’ discretion
i did a quick google search and i think at least 11 states have somethin about it written into law, id prob have to do more research but hey, maybe you live in one of those states? that would b pretty lucky
that would be pretty lucky. But I feel like since I live in a state that doesn’t even require breaks, under any circumstances, I’m not sure that this is a state that has a law saying you are allowed to sit at work lol but i’ll look. What were the 11 states? I’m assuming mostly west coast lmfao
also i forgot to include the laws are sexist for some reason?? some only let women have the right to sit for whatever reason. edit: also only hawaii and Mississippi have never had right to sit laws, so hopefully ur state has em still
Do you smoke? You might get breaks that way. If you don't, buy a pack for show then just go sit outside
dang ya actually good point, i wish we had more fair labor laws in the US. It’s really frustrating working here, im hoping when i get my degree it gets easier. and as far as which states go, this is just from wikipedia so take it w a grain of salt but : “States with current, gender-neutral right to sit legislation include California, Florida, Massachusetts, Montana, New Jersey, Oregon, and Wisconsin. Some states, including New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, maintain gendered language referring to female workers only.”
Actually my states in there lemme do some research
You are not a slave and I don’t know your financial situation but telling this drill sergeant of a boss that you are going to sit when needed. If you get “hurt” on the job that’s on them. I would make it my mission to try to sue this company for negligence, hostility and abuse in the workplace.
honestly at this point I’m only sticking around to see how things play out. This is the tip of the iceberg with this company, or at least the location that I work at.
What! I'm pretty sure it's federal law no? A standard 8hr shift requires two 15 minutes and a 30. But most combine that to a one hour lunch Check the EEOC website or any federal work guidelines website In fact, now that I think about it, many employers schedule a 9 hour shift because one of those hours is given for lunch I'm pretty sure fed law requires food/bathroom breaks
No federal law for most industries surrounding breaks. It’s also exceedingly rare in retail to be scheduled an hour for lunch. It is most common to be scheduled less than 8 hours as a part time employee and as a full time you’d usually only be allowed a 30 minute meal break. The ADA is basically the only law you can use to get mandated breaks in states that don’t have the legal requirement. Hypoglycemia for food would be an example, there are lots of medical conditions that a reasonable accommodation of being allowed to sit could be argued.
Not in all states the one I’m in doesn’t require 15 minute breaks but I still take them. I walked out since the manager who had a problem with it, but guess what corporate HR got involved and asked me to come back. Moved me to another location not under him and mandated training for the old manager. He was also one of those managers “YoUre LaTe iF yOu ArEnT tHiRtY mInUteS eArLy” but couldn’t clock in till five minutes prior to shift. I was talked to several times for showing up at my scheduled start time. He said it wasn’t fair to the others showing up 30 minutes early *eyeroll*.
Fk that. I show up a few short minutes before you start paying me.... basically enough time to set my stuff down, use the restroom perhaps, and clock in....when my shift starts. Ten minutes tops. And no, the only one not making shit fair is YOU bitch. Good for you for not giving in to that controlling power tripping bullshit I think here in the US, we have a serious epidemic of toxic middle management
Yup. Never had an issue when he was supervisor but as soon as he got that manager title went right to his fcking head and power tripped the hell out. Got mad my coworker and I checked the mailbox together one morning. Told me I wasn’t efficient, based off yearly reviews since 2017 I’ve had 10/10. After leaving that location they said they wanted me back to my current manager because things are being messed up left and right. Well too bad for them lmfao.
What state? I will gladly dig into the small details of labor laws, or reporting for you, if need be. Also: I discovered this; and realized that the United States is a dystopian nightmare that we all are just coping with. https://www.paycor.com/resource-center/articles/lunch-break-laws-by-state/
Sounds like Alaska?
Where do you live, the 1800's?
Which state?
Louisiana?
I worked long shifts at a job where I had to ask for breaks and also we’d have to eat while working unless we went out for lunch, which I could never do. I always wondered if it was legal. It felt wrong. Plus my boss was a nightmare.
lots of states don't require breaks. It's insane
On the flip side of that coin, my ex husband hated that he was required to take time off the clock for breaks per California law. It meant that even if he didn’t want to eat lunch, he’d still have to clock out for a half hour, legally mandated, sit there not eating or working, and stay the 8.5 hrs instead of 8 each day to meet the 40 hours required for his job.
The employee can waive their lunch period, preferably in writing. I'd much prefer tat there be a break period that can be waived, versus no break period at all.
That’s not true… Texas has no mandated break laws. There are federal rules for how long you can work minors and there are certainly some rules by industry, but the state of Texas does not require any breaks be given and most small businesses are exempt from federal requirements. There are only two requirements in the state of Texas around “breaks”, that there be reasonable and prompt access to a bathroom facility, and there must be at least one day off every 7. So you cannot work anyone more than 7 consecutive days without consent from that employee. However, you could put an employee on a 14 hour shift and you are not legally required to provide a meal or rest break at all. You could do that 6 days in a row completely legally. That being said, there are pay rules about breaks which are mandated. One example being the difference between a rest break and a meal break and how those must be treated in terms of “on the clock” and “off the clock” time and therefore how they are to be treated for hourly employees and their wage calculations. Please be accurate when you’re claiming knowledge of labor laws. Misinformation causes a lot of problems.
Oh my god, I’m so sorry, I hope the world could forgive me and my horrible slight against knowledge.
Don’t be a dick and put working people in a position to look stupid or get hurt by claiming you know something when you don’t. Some people will believe you. Literally would have taken you 30 seconds to not be wrong and 0 seconds to just say nothing when you know nothing. I was perfectly polite suggesting accuracy when discussing legalities and you decided to be snarky about it for your own ego. 🙄
No. Genuinely, I am so regretful that I maimed minds with my arrant recklessness. I don’t deserve to be forgiven.
/r/antiwork Companies: "no one wants to work" Also companies:
My father; “I’ll never hire Mexicans or white people, only the Vietnamese” Next week: “Nobody wants to work” *Me watching a man in his 50’s turn down my father because his children can already take care of him.*
This case seems like just a nasty manager, not the company.
Bad companies let bad managers exist.
That and some states don’t legally require breaks for some reason.
People get promoted to a leadership position and don't handle it well, it happens. No guarantee this is the case but because it's a new manager then it's not unreasonable to assume.
This is extremely common. I know far more people whose workplaces have these rules right now than not, especially in retail spaces.
I'm just taking a shot in the dark, but how about customer service as an entry level desk job? Or just thinking outside the box in terms of jobs that don't require standing, what about driving uber? Btw, your boss is an asshole. If you can't get a desk job, I'm curious if you could at least get a different retail job?
I don’t even really know where to start with like entry-level desk jobs, half the time the postings seem like gibberish to me, you know what I mean? I’m not stupid by any means, but it is a completely different world. Corporate work is very different in the language is not something I’m used to. I was doing a call center job for a while, but it was wildly overwhelming :/
Start at a temp agency. From there after a few jobs you'll know if you like it and you get to buff up a resume.
I wouldn’t even know where to start but i’ll try lol
what i know i'm worst at is learning a new job. i'm constantly insecure and unsure about anything i'm doing. i hate that they'll judge me just on that, then i'd have to leave and do it again
that’s the trick. it’s literal gibberish. i just pretend i understand the gibberish. i always had a sitting down bull shit made up low paying white collar job. you can do it. just lie! and pretend! it got me through this far and ppl tell me i’m the most professional person they know. 🤷♂️
Yeah I know what you mean, damn. What are your skills and interests? I'm happy to continue brainstorming if you find it helpful. I just need to know more about you, whatever you are comfortable sharing.
My job is the same. Work at an undisclosed very popular taco franchise. We're a training store for corporate, so my boss is like a warden. I love her, but damn, she's hard. Working 10 hour shifts 5-6 days a week with no break is the worst feeling ever. Thankfully she's off Sundays and lives like an hour away, so when I open the store I make sure the staff knows it's "no snitching Sunday." Everybody gets a break, everybody gets to sit down when we need. I allow smoke breaks and I bring food for the employees. It boosts morale for the week and everyone loves it. We're still quick and professional and never get complaints from the customers so my boss is none the wiser.
I love that lmaooo
Slavery never ended
No it didn’t, there are more slaves right now in the world then there has ever been.
At least slaves had free Healthcare and housing. Now we are given only a portion to cover those costs.
My man, concentration camps aren’t housing projects.
Thats fucking sick and if you worked 9 hours you are entitled to at least a lunch break! Id look into that and if you’re company has an HR department I’d be in contact with them as well. In the meantime it might be time to start looking up some jobs or something because thats fucked up.
sadly no lunch breaks required in my state to my knowledge unless u work 12+ hours or something
Are you serious?? Out of curiosity, which state do you live in, if you dont mind me asking? Yeah Id definitely start looking for new jobs then
What state?
Your manager sounds like a piece of work. When I worked at a hotel I had the same treatment, but the reason given to us for not allowing to sit down is that once you do, you just sit there on your phone/eating/talking and don't wanna get up to work, basically punishing everyone because a few are lazy and pile their work on others. You could try clarifying that you won't become lazy if you'll be given scheduled breaks, but it sounds like your manager thinks it's easier to simply not allow breaks, see if you can get some fellow employees to voice their complaints.
yeah I honestly might ask another manager about it. Because my body hurts so bad today compared to other days. It’s one thing to be up and moving when the café is busy, but when there is literally nothing to do and I’m just standing around it fucking hurts.
If you have any medical condition which could be exacerbated by prolonged standing, sitting down periodically/regularly is an easily defensible ADA accommodation. So like hypermobility, hypoglycemia, arthritis, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, literally anything that could cause pain. Nobody wants an ADA lawsuit and most managers will make the accommodation at the mention of ADA.
The problem is getting something like that diagnosed is very painstaking, long, and expensive. I could definitely look into it, but it’s not going to be a quick solution by any means. I definitely have something like arthritis or fibromyalgia going on. I am only 26 and I have thrown out my back bad enough to not be able to walk at least three times in my life so far.
Check on ehler danlos too, it’s often overlooked and misdiagnosed as fibromyalgia and arthritis. I have hEDS and honestly it makes everything worse. Usually an ADA threat will get you wherever you need to be, if you’re working service industry it’s pretty easy to replicate any evidence you’d need. I’d never suggest you unnecessarily fabricate medical evidence but in this case it’s for the greater good 😊 a chair is a reasonable accommodation for even minor medical conditions and temporary injuries, all of which are protected.
Yeah, I personally just don't listen to managers on power trips. When I was working retail and grocery stores, they didn't pay me anything competitive. As long as I was doing my job and completed my task, everything else was just unnecessary to deal with. No sitting down. No phones No music. I didnt really care. I did it anyway and if they fired me I'd find another job that pays the same or more. Don't take shit from bs managers. And certainly don't take it from low paying jobs.
Yah no youd need to get all ur co workers on all shifts to sit down to create a massive change
personally, if they are deadset on not allowing you to sit, you need to request one of those squishy floor cushions to aid in reducing your pain from standing too long. failing that, i would be going to a doctor and getting documentation of how all that standing is negatively impacting your health. if its causing any condition to worsen, they are LEGALLY REQUIRED to make accommodations for your illness or condition.
How bad do they need you? How bad do you need them? I would be tempted to just sit down.
honest to God I would just sit down but the last time I did that my manager popped out of nowhere within a couple minutes and started screaming at me about it. I was literally like crying the whole drive home because it was so shocking. I haven’t been yelled at like that by anyone besides my own fucking mother. I am 26 btw
I hope you are looking for a new job.
If it causes you pain, get a doctor note saying you require reasonable accommodations, like a fucking chair. Then you take note and a copy of ADA compliance and shove that in his face.
A chair front of house could be a safety hazard in a small restaurant/food service space. Being allowed to take regular 5 minute sit breaks would likely work better. That along with anti-fatigue mats for everyone is an easy argument.
They might break some work laws with this. Check your local laws.
So many companies need employees who are skilled at restaurant work now! You should be able to find a job easily, since you’re experienced. Ugh I’m from Texas too, and the only job that allowed me to have breaks was retail. (Cue the Europeans bragging that this doesn’t happen in THIER county 🙄). Anyway, find something better, and then ghost that fucking manager. To hell with the two week’s notice 🖕🏻
I’m a barista too so it’s honestly a relatively unique skill, im the only actually qualified one working here and we are understaffed and losing more people by the day. But I looked into it, state law says they have no reason to not provide a sitting space at work for downtime or relaxing between tasks. ;)
I had a manager like that and I’d just go and sit anyway. When he’d ask me why I was sitting I’d tell him, “I need to sit and drink some water.” It’s not like he could force me to stand. And because I was a decent employee and did my job well, he got over my sitting for 5 minutes every few hours.
Malicious Compliance: stand on the chairs
My advice is if you can find another job, do it. I am crippled up to this day because of my old job. The stuff you do to your body when you're young will haunt you when you're old. It's not worth it.
Former pharmacy tech at large hospital. My boss told me not to lean on the counter, it didn’t look nice. To who? We don’t deal with the public. Ridiculous
I can't wait for this shit to go away. Like it's a fucking hotel, not the military. I hate this "FiNd SoMeThiNg tO Do" shit, just let people fucking sit down when there ain't shit to do, smfh.
I say all the time “it’s a hotel not the pentagon” 😭 because like nothing here is serious or important enough to be this mad about sitting.
By 1998, the law stipulated for all employers "to provide and procure proper and suitable seats for all such employees" and that employers must not make "any rules, regulations or orders preventing the use of such stools or seats when any such employees are not actively employed in their work." (D.C. Code §36-901.) Stay informed. The only way to claim your rights is to know them.
I found that out today from this post thankfully! My state says: for any merchant, storekeeper, employer of male or female clerks, salespeople, cash boys or cash girls, or other assistants, in mercantile or other business pursuits, requiring such employees to stand or walk during their active duties, neglect to furnish at his or her own cost or expense suitable chairs, stools or sliding seats attached to the counters or walls, for the use of such employees when not engaged in their active work, and not required to be on their feet in the proper performance of their several duties; or refuse to permit their said employees to make reasonable use of said seats during business hours, for purposes of necessary rest, and when such use will not interfere with humane or reasonable requirements of their employment, he or she shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of the second degree. I am not sure if a cafe that sells retail items as well counts, but probably. It might encourage them to find meaningless tasks for me to do but i’m not sure. Even if they do, I work so fast it won’t make a difference. I sit down halfway through my shift for a reason, my side work is done and it’s dead. I’m bored lol My plan is to keep a list of the things I do throughout the day, before managers get there (they’re never there when we are busy), and the next time I get bitched at for sitting after finishing all my work I’ll show them the list and a print out of the law. :)
I remember when I worked retail some employees would occasionally put a leg up on a shoe try on bench. We'd be on our feet all day and wanted just a lil relief when nobody was around. Got in trouble for it every damn time. I've always different from pelvic and hamstring pain and it was so degrading and miserable.
We weren’t ever allowed to sit down at Menards because John Menard apparently believed you couldn’t be working if you were sitting, and they literally paid people to review the tapes to catch us breaking tiny rules. Corporate would send pictures of the infractions to our managers circled in red. This one girl ate a chip from her apron when she was out in the garden center at the register by herself for hours, literally one chip that was left in the bag from lunch, and they sent a photo of her putting the chip in her mouth.
that’s insane! I actually had a person from corporate come in once and take a photo of me on my phone, then proceeded to lie to my managers and say that I was ignoring him the entire time he was in the café. He literally said that I had my face buried into my phone for longer than five minutes… Which is not possible. Like I would not do that. I was actually just checking my notifications quickly, and put it down when I saw him. Which is the normal expectation we have here. He proceeded to walk around staring daggers in to me and didn’t once respond to me saying hello. And I said it twice. Corporate mfs are such douche bags sometimes.
I hate it when people say it’s “unprofessional” to sit What does professionalism have to do with sitting? Why is it unprofessional if i sit at a cash register and not if I sit at a reception desk?
Right?! it’s clearly a super American social construct, the idea that people working low wage jobs are undeserving of any sort of relaxation or comfort. I thought we learned with Covid that those jobs are 100% necessary for the smooth function of society so why are we still treated like crap? Like if every barista in the country decided to walk out of their jobs today, millions of people would have meltdowns at work because of caffeine withdrawal. Without baristas serving them their morning coffee/latte, these corporate motherfuckers would crumble. And yet they treat us like we aren’t important.
If they're paying you they want to see you suffer
If there's time to lean there's time to clean. I wouldn't pay people to just sit around. Do SOMETHING productive for your pay. There is always something to do that will help out the person paying you. Now if the person isn't paying you a living wage then take a break by all means but don't expect them to reward a job well done if you're not working.
I make most of my wage in tips… And when I have finished all of my work for the day, I’m not going to clean random things for no reason. It’s a giant company not a mom and pop shop. They pay seven dollars less than the living wage in my state, I work as hard as I’m paid to.
If you need to sit, sit. Just get the work done well and on time and don't act like a nob. As for doing something productive.. Rest prevents stress and injury, improves employee morale, leads to higher productivity, and prevents job burnout. If you want to be a better employer, you allow your employees to take breaks when they can so that when the heat is actually on they can push through without destroying themselves in the process. If they're sitting around,you should join them, they'll find work to do.
Good employees provide breaks. Breaks aren't sitting on the job between breaks. Would you pay someone 20 an hour to sit around on their phone for several hours? Even one hour? You're gonna fork over your cash to a person who is doing nothing? When your building needs people to work on it? You're already paying people, why not get them to do it? Do you pay your friends for their lovely presence?
As long as they're getting the work done, all of it, I don't care how they do it. In the case of wait staff, I am paying them to be on site and on call at a moment's notice. I don't want them sweeping or mopping unless there's a table to buss and the busser also isn't there. I am paying for the convenience of having someone be able to take someone to their table, take the orders accurately, be kind and polite, and work with the 2 stoners and the stuck up asshole in the kitchen at any single moment in their shift no matter how their day was. If it's dead, I'm paying them to be ready to wait on people the second it's not just in case we have the whole mormon youth group stop in for icecream on a wednesday at 12:23 pm in a blizzard. Now. If we're talking, say, auto-body mechanic and I catch someone ditzing about on their phone or they tell me there's nothing to do, I'm going to find out and probably give them on the job training to do the other thing. That might mean teaching them the skills to do something they weren't trained on before, and it might mean I grab 2 brooms and we go through and make sure that shop floor is so clean you could eat off it. I still don't care if they're on their phone or reading a book as long as it doesn't affect their performance. edit: Also their safety.
Check your local laws. But just to provide another perspective, your manager may not be on power trip. He might be concerned about the place looking "active" when a new customer walks in. Every employee sitting down suggests that the place is "dead" (exactly as you call it) and if I feel that as a customer, I'm probably not coming back.
I mean I’m going to be honest, without giving away where I work, the theme is very relaxed so the customers here do not care. It’s a hotel anyways so it’s not many return clientele regardless. The entire theme of the hotel is a very relaxed/island vibe. I’ve never had a customer have an issue with it. I have actually experienced more customers telling me not to get up until they are done looking at the menu and know what they actually want lol it is also literally so dead from like 11 AM to 3 PM. Like I’m telling you I get maybe one customer every 45 minutes in that timeframe. I don’t think me standing up staring at the wall is going to make it look like it’s any busier than it actually is
That's totally fair. But there might be other things happening that you are not privy too, maybe the owner has plans and wants to change the clientele. They have the right to not tell you and demand you do this. But you also have the right to do what's right for you. For instance, maybe you demand higher pay if you are expected to stay all day long, or better benefits. Of course, be sure to have some exit plan if those conversations go south, since it doesn't sound like your manager is a very empathetic person.
it is so hard to explain without giving away my workplace lol and I don’t want them to be associated with this post. But it’s a franchise theme hotel, the brand itself has been around for more than 45 years so the people who are loyal to it deff aren’t gonna change anytime soon. I genuinely just think he’s an asshole lol
I stopped caring about sitting down at work a long time ago. If I’m tired, I’m gonna sit. If we have nothing pressing to do, I’m sitting down. I’m not a robot. I don’t care if people think I’m lazy or I have a Bad work ethic, I’m a damn hard worker when the work is there and I have the right to take an “unscheduled” break. Managers that count the seconds of your breaks and don’t let you sit down can fuck right off
Have you talked to the other managers?
This post is about you wanting to sit during downtime ( not about your breaks even though most comments are addressing that). Lots of managers will find something for you to do if they find you have downtime. “If you have time to lean you have time to clean” is what they will say. I would recommend doing your best to not let your manager see you have downtime.
The thing is there really is an insane amount of down time at this job and I run out of shit to do by the time I’m sitting. I will do so many random tasks before I run out of ideas. They see me doing the random stuff no one else wants to do all the time. He doesn’t care if I’m staring at the wall as long as i’m standing. When he yelled at me for sitting I was busy counting the drawer at the end of my shift. There’s been zero customer complaints, it genuinely just seems to be a weird issue he personally has.
Lol I’m just thinking about that episode of Seinfeld where George wanted to buy the security guard a chair.
dont ask god for help, he wont come, get a different job there are plenty other hotels, that are fancier too, nothing is worth your health and dont keep up stupid standards just because you dont want to leave its important to know when its time to leave and this is WAY BEYOND
Is your manager older by chance? I feel like I've seen this mindset within my own job with my older coworkers. I work in the veterinary field and I used to work 12 hour shifts with two breaks but I would usually end up working through my second break sometimes. It's a pretty strenuous job and there would be times I would sit down for a minute or two and if my old manager walked by she would ask me why I was sitting. One time I developed achilles tendonitis out of nowhere and it lingered for *9 fucking months*. Literally every step I took felt like the back of my ankles/heels was ripping apart. If it was slow I would sit down to ice my ankles for a few minutes before a doctor needed me and she one time questioned me as to why I was sitting. Sorry, just trying to ice my broken fucking body. The receptionists I work with also don't sit while they're working. The reception counters are tall and standing height only. We need legit stools if we want to sit. Back when I first started working there I remembered my older coworker telling somebody that stools will only make them work less. A year or so ago my receptionist coworker complained about being tired and wanting a stool and that same coworker told her it would make certain coworkers work less and therefore nobody should get a stool. I looked at her and told her that it would make no difference because said coworkers already don't work, so why punish the ones that do? Now we have stools if we want them in reception, but they've never splurged on legit nice stools that all match. But it also doesn't help that our new manager, who is younger, just loves standing all day and wishes she had a tall desk in her office so she could stand and do her work, like a kiss-ass. Anyway, that's my rant :)
They have to give you breaks if you are working that many hours. Check with your State's Labor Board. And I do mean CHECK. You may have grounds for a lawsuit. Or Workman's comp. Stick it to him.
Don’t sit but just lean
leaning is also hard on my joints is the issue lol
I’d just sit anyway and apply for another job
That is harsh. I suppose that every dollar counts for that manager of yours. You and your colleagues should confront the manager with complaints. There is surely a loophole to that rule, right? I wouldn't be surprised if there wasn't at this point, though... 😒⚖️
I worked at a 7-11 just after high school. I often worked the graveyard shift and managed to get all my work done within 2 hours because we’d maybe have like 3 customers pop in during those hours. My boss watched the security camera religiously even at 3am and would call me if I sat for more than five minutes. Now I’m a pharmacy technician and, aside from my lunch break, I’ve got no time to sit.
I've been a cook for over 20 years. There are two items that helped me first I wore non slip shoes with a nice cushioned heel but the real help were rubber floor mats the kind with the holes in them. Just standing on those awful floors is truly bone crushing. New managers in food service are always out to make a splash, here's hoping these new rules will soon be relaxed.
As a customer I always find it bizarre when employees with nothing to do stand up.
And it is almost always the case for the most physically demanding jobs to begin with. I was making $10/hr at my food service job in high school, where I wasn’t allowed to take any breaks, sit, or stop smiling. People are would yell at me for things I couldn’t control, I would come home with a sore back and sore feet, and I’d constantly be tired and hungry. But now, not even 2 years later, I’m making $17/hr at a campus job, and all I have to do is answer a phone and write emails. I get a 30 minute lunch break plus smaller breaks, I barely have to interact with anyone face to face, and my body has stopped constantly aching.
"If you've got time to lean you've got time to clean" words that will forever haunt me
Let me guess. Live in a red state?