Bathroom Breaks That Changed History

Bathroom Breaks That Changed History

Shannon Quinn - November 19, 2022

Bathroom Breaks That Changed History
We have OSHA to thank for having the right to a bathroom break at work. Credit: Shutterstock

In the 90’s, OSHA Saved Worker’s Rights to Use the Bathroom

For most of history, workers were not allowed to take bathroom breaks whenever nature called. Henry Ford was once quoted calling the digestive system the “disassembly line.” The Jim Beam distillery even forced women to report when it was their time of the month, since bathroom breaks were meticulously tracked on a spreadsheet. In 1998, OSHA finally made it a law that workers should have the right to access the bathroom, unless there is a reasonable reason to temporarily delay them.

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