Legal Question in Discrimination Law in Washington

work discrimination

while on a break at work i decided to take a nap. i was woken up about 10 minutes later and told that i was not allowed to sleep during my paid break time. next to me was another girl sleeping and across from me was a gentleman sleeping. they were not woken up. i was told i was the only one woken up because i was wearing ear muffs due to our breakroom being so loud. My supervisor informed me that another employee complained that I was sleeping. Im pretty sure I know who it was ( a husband and wife couple) and i feel as if i was discriminated against because the wife is upset that I not her ''friend.'' Others wear earplugs in the break room without getting repremanded and i wondered why i could not wear ear muffs if others could wear ear plugs.


Asked on 5/18/07, 9:20 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys
Regina Mullen Legal Data Services, PLC

Re: work discrimination

That's not discrimination.

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Answered on 5/19/07, 10:37 pm
Merry Kogut Key Peninsula Law

Re: work discrimination

I specialize in discrimination. Your story is definitely unusual. I don't understand why you weren't allowed to sleep when other people were.

However, even if you were discriminated against, it wouldn't be ILLEGAL discrimination unless it was because of a protected status, such as race, religion, age (over 40), sex, etc.

And, even if this happened because of one of those reasons, if this was a one time incident, it is extremely unlikely that you would succeed if it went to court.

Are there any company rules against sleeping in the break room, during your break period? Or against wearing ear muffs or plugs? If so, don't break the rules even if others do so.

Best of luck to you.

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Answered on 5/18/07, 10:05 pm


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