04.07.2008

Taking a break

A female crane operator has won the right to a state and federal sex discrimination trial on the basis that the company policy on toilet breaks has a disparate impact on women,

The case Johnson vs AK Steel Corporation was given the go ahead by the federal district court of Ohio.

The case concerns the slab handling cranes at one of AK Steels sites in Ohio, the crane operators were, at least at the time, obliged to work 12 hour continuous shifts from their cabs above the slab yard. Their job involved unloading hot slabs of steel from trains and lifting them into place to be pushed into the furnaces.

When the female plaintiff was assigned to the job, she was advised of the 12-hour shifts and, naturally asked about breaks for the call of nature. The Yard Manager allegedly told her that there were no crane operators available to give her a break, and that she would have to urinate off the back of the crane, like the "guys" did.

The operator thought the manager was joking and asked the other yard foreman, who confirmed that she was supposed to relieve herself above and over the work area.

Apparently, the official policy was that operators took a break when they "had a chance to take a break." i.e during lulls in the work flow, which in this case was never. The company’s HR department said that it was unaware that the crane managers had instituted this policy, which was in part caused by a shortage of crane operators.

The plaintiff finding the break method too daunting refused to continue and left the job.

The court had little difficulty in finding that the toilet policies at the yard had a disparate impact on women, even though they were, on the face of it, gender neutral.

The yard managers denied telling the plaintiff that she had to go "over the side," but the court found enough evidence to go forward to trial including the fact that crane drivers did work 12 hour shifts without a break and that the male operators did relieve themselves in this manner..

Tower crane owners/users take note!