Parsons Electric was part of a multiemployer collective bargaining agreement that was silent on the subject of employee breaks. Independent of the union contract, Parsons, for years, maintained a written policy that provided hourly employees with a 15-minute break in the morning and a 15-minute break in the afternoon each workday. Parsons then replaced the…

After losing 120 production hours in May because of unscheduled bathroom breaks, WaterSaver Faucet Co. unilaterally implemented a policy prohibiting employees from taking restroom breaks lasting more than 6 minutes. While draconian on its face, employees are able to use the washroom during their 10-minute morning break, 30-minute lunch break, 15-minute afternoon break, and 5-minute…

A portion of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) hours-of-service rule, which took effect on July 1, 2013 was recently struck down by the D.C. Circuit Court. The Court held that the FMCSA acted “arbitrarily and irrationally” in requiring short-haul drivers to take a 30-minute off-duty breaks. Short haul drivers are those who operate…