Yes, that's technically the rules. Only baggers on lot duty get water while on the clock. I guess an exception might be made for people with medical issues.
However, the reasoning behind it - to limit people going to the bathroom - is nonsense. There's nothing in the books about how you can't use the restroom if you need to. And people are going to need to. Especially if your manager is being a hard-ass, I imagine people are going to have to take little bathroom breaks in order to vomit, attend to their bleeding ulcers, weep in despair, etc.
Yes, that's technically the rules. Only baggers on lot duty get water while on the clock. I guess an exception might be made for people with medical issues.
However, the reasoning behind it - to limit people going to the bathroom - is nonsense. There's nothing in the books about how you can't use the restroom if you need to. And people are going to need to. Especially if your manager is being a hard-ass, I imagine people are going to have to take little bathroom breaks in order to vomit, attend to their bleeding ulcers, weep in despair, etc.
baggers have been getting in trouble for having water as well, and the water dispenser they put in was empty for two days before they did anything about it. (our water fountain has been broken for almost a year)
Yes, that's technically the rules. Only baggers on lot duty get water while on the clock. I guess an exception might be made for people with medical issues.
However, the reasoning behind it - to limit people going to the bathroom - is nonsense. There's nothing in the books about how you can't use the restroom if you need to. And people are going to need to. Especially if your manager is being a hard-ass, I imagine people are going to have to take little bathroom breaks in order to vomit, attend to their bleeding ulcers, weep in despair, etc.
baggers have been getting in trouble for having water as well, and the water dispenser they put in was empty for two days before they did anything about it. (our water fountain has been broken for almost a year)
Perhaps your contract is different. In ours it's pretty explicit that baggers, on lot duty (not otherwise) can have water bottles while on the clock. But in our store at least, most of the time the no-food-or-drink on the clock thing isn't really enforced.
Yes, that's technically the rules. Only baggers on lot duty get water while on the clock. I guess an exception might be made for people with medical issues.
However, the reasoning behind it - to limit people going to the bathroom - is nonsense. There's nothing in the books about how you can't use the restroom if you need to. And people are going to need to. Especially if your manager is being a hard-ass, I imagine people are going to have to take little bathroom breaks in order to vomit, attend to their bleeding ulcers, weep in despair, etc.
baggers have been getting in trouble for having water as well, and the water dispenser they put in was empty for two days before they did anything about it. (our water fountain has been broken for almost a year)
Perhaps your contract is different. In ours it's pretty explicit that baggers, on lot duty (not otherwise) can have water bottles while on the clock. But in our store at least, most of the time the no-food-or-drink on the clock thing isn't really enforced.
it hasn't been for a long time. do you think we can be written up for leaving to get water?
Anonymous wrote:how legal is this, and will going to the union help?
You can't bring food in libraries or even the US Capitol. Yes, it's legal.
no one eats at registers, if they do its not around customers, i'm worried about water, we go hours without breaks, is it legal to deny someone water?
You can't drink in libraries or even the US Capitol. You can't even bring them inside airports.
In all seriousness, the company is not denying you water. You just can't have them on registers. If there's downtime, walk over to some random place where you can keep some water and drink it there.
What are you going to do if you spill your water? Screamiong "Oh ****!" isn't going to prevent that stuff from leaking into the sensitive laser system and the computer.
The company is 100% within their legal rights to deny employees to have access to food and non-water drinks in their work areas. I'm not sure about water, but as long as it is available from a water fountain I suspect they can legally deny you the ability to keep it close by as well.
Yes, that's technically the rules. Only baggers on lot duty get water while on the clock. I guess an exception might be made for people with medical issues.
However, the reasoning behind it - to limit people going to the bathroom - is nonsense. There's nothing in the books about how you can't use the restroom if you need to. And people are going to need to. Especially if your manager is being a hard-ass, I imagine people are going to have to take little bathroom breaks in order to vomit, attend to their bleeding ulcers, weep in despair, etc.
baggers have been getting in trouble for having water as well, and the water dispenser they put in was empty for two days before they did anything about it. (our water fountain has been broken for almost a year)
Welcome to the wonderful world of Kroger Front End.
As courtesy clerks on 'lot duty, we are basically left to our own devices and self-monitoring when it comes to water for us.
We got one of those styrofoam coolers and (try to) keep it stocked with Kroger-brand water and Kroger-brand bags of ice.
But if the water bottles run out or the ice has melted and the water has been in there for a few days, and no one is doing anything about it, we have to do it on our own.
I make it a point to check it whenever I go out on 'lot. If it's not up to satisfaction (for example, it's 1 p.m. and there are three bottles in there floating in water with no ice...) I take the time to 'fix' it and put enough water and if needed ice to last the other courtesy clerks coming up. We make minimum wage for this s-h-i-t and nothing more. Kroger asks way too much for that parking lot, especially here in Georgia when it's nearly 90 degrees with the humidity feeling like a greenhouse. With a busy day and the ignorance or apathy of customers turning cart corrals into shopping cart roller derbies. It's just a hell of a lot to ask for so little recognition and so little pay. Yea yea ya I know, "Don't complain" so I won't. But I just did. And I can do that -- yesterday, for instance, I worked for only four hours. Three of those were on 'lot duty. First hour on one side. Second hour off the 'lot. Third hour on the other side. Fourth hour alternating back to the other side. And I ended up talking to my FES on duty who agreed with me that it was BS. "BS" in the sense that I would either have had to have taken my break early (after only an hour's or so worth of work) or not have had an opportunity at all. I ended up going on break at the beginning of my fourth hour and taking an extra five minutes. Then I just went into the parking lot and used the energy from the meal to go the remaining 40 before I had to clock out. I was smart enough to check the side I was supposed to be on and make sure it would last that 20 minutes before I clocked for break.
Lately our Front End has been real dicks about making out the 'lot duty schedule like that. I don't know if it's something I personally did that pissed them off, something another courtesy clerk did, something all of us did, or just a low amount of staff and q-vision and eschedule combining forces to f-u-c-k us all up. But I know that yesterday was a load of crap, and I haven't been the only bagger to have to pull a shift with three hours on the 'lot.
Anonymous wrote:how legal is this, and will going to the union help?
You can't bring food in libraries or even the US Capitol. Yes, it's legal.
no one eats at registers, if they do its not around customers, i'm worried about water, we go hours without breaks, is it legal to deny someone water?
You can't drink in libraries or even the US Capitol. You can't even bring them inside airports.
In all seriousness, the company is not denying you water. You just can't have them on registers. If there's downtime, walk over to some random place where you can keep some water and drink it there.
What are you going to do if you spill your water? Screamiong "Oh ****!" isn't going to prevent that stuff from leaking into the sensitive laser system and the computer.
those places you listed are optional to visit, i would never be spending 9 hours there. i guess ill just walk to the breakroom for 5 mins twice an hour for a drink of water.
The company is 100% within their legal rights to deny employees to have access to food and non-water drinks in their work areas. I'm not sure about water, but as long as it is available from a water fountain I suspect they can legally deny you the ability to keep it close by as well.
our water fountain is broken, and the water dispenser they sat up for employees was empty for they store charged another bottle to refill it.
i suppose i'll have to leave register to get drink from the breakroom.
Well...hopefully you will all suffer plenty of 90 degree weather, and all get dehydrated...
Apparently, dehydration is not an issue anymore...Well, with some medical concerns, we could be talking life and death here...
Or maybe that'll occur to some of you, once you're lying in a hospital bed somewhere...
The rules are one thing, but dehydration can be quite serious...as I have known a few people over the years with medical issues, where this is a problem...
thats fine, but water is a basic human right. so i'll gladly leave my register to get some. just as I would the bathroom.
HAHA. You can't go a couple hours without water? Why is that? Do you have a medical condition? I can't tell you how disruptive it is to cover three bathroom trips plus a break for some people every shift. This is a business and you agreed to these terms when you were hired. Handle your business on your break or before and after you're shift. Once in awhile isn't a problem but some people do this every day and it's not fair to the rest of us.
There are actually numerous UN resolutions and documents either explicitly or implicitly recognizing access to water (and food) as a basic human right. However, this being the US, that doesn't really matter (this being the home of "enhanced interrogation techniques") so I'm not going to bother. But I'm kind of bedazzled by the attitude that drinking water while on lot duty is some sort of luxurious presumption (i.e. "everything you want is a right" or "fantasy world"). Dehydration and heat stroke are real things.
Now, people on the registers, well, it's a little less urgent for them.
But managers who get hissy over a bathroom break have some personal issues that go way beyond work. Maybe should find a different job. Prison guard, maybe.
While water is a necessity, being inside and not having water all the time is acceptable unless you have a doctors note stating you need water constantly. But drinking that much eater means you need to pee more. And you can't just leave your register to urinate because you drank lots of water. Even we don't have drinks in the checkstands. Now lot service? You can drink as much water as you can hold, due to it being triple digits in the summer.
There are actually numerous UN resolutions and documents either explicitly or implicitly recognizing access to water (and food) as a basic human right. However, this being the US, that doesn't really matter (this being the home of "enhanced interrogation techniques") so I'm not going to bother. But I'm kind of bedazzled by the attitude that drinking water while on lot duty is some sort of luxurious presumption (i.e. "everything you want is a right" or "fantasy world"). Dehydration and heat stroke are real things.
Now, people on the registers, well, it's a little less urgent for them.
But managers who get hissy over a bathroom break have some personal issues that go way beyond work. Maybe should find a different job. Prison guard, maybe.
There's a difference between mouthing off about something and proving it's there.
Like I said, show me said resolutions.
Oh dear, how dramatic your life is, living under an authoritarian regime and working for an evil corporation.
While water is a necessity, being inside and not having water all the time is acceptable unless you have a doctors note stating you need water constantly. But drinking that much eater means you need to pee more. And you can't just leave your register to urinate because you drank lots of water. Even we don't have drinks in the checkstands. Now lot service? You can drink as much water as you can hold, due to it being triple digits in the summer.
The triple digits are bad enough. The fumes from the cars, dealing with people coming in and pulling out, the heat off the asphalt and the cart corrals that look like art exhibits...that's all bad.
But here in Georgia, the worst part has got to be the humidity. Two days ago it was 85 degrees outside with nearly 70 percent humidity.
I have asked for a second shirt. Here in this forum I have learned I will never get one.
That's okay. If the customers don't mind me looking like I just swam to work and smell like I had to climb garbage at the end then I'm okay with it too.
There are actually numerous UN resolutions and documents either explicitly or implicitly recognizing access to water (and food) as a basic human right. However, this being the US, that doesn't really matter (this being the home of "enhanced interrogation techniques") so I'm not going to bother. But I'm kind of bedazzled by the attitude that drinking water while on lot duty is some sort of luxurious presumption (i.e. "everything you want is a right" or "fantasy world"). Dehydration and heat stroke are real things.
Now, people on the registers, well, it's a little less urgent for them.
But managers who get hissy over a bathroom break have some personal issues that go way beyond work. Maybe should find a different job. Prison guard, maybe.
There's a difference between mouthing off about something and proving it's there.
Like I said, show me said resolutions.
Oh dear, how dramatic your life is, living under an authoritarian regime and working for an evil corporation.
You can go ahead and research UN resolutions and human rights yourself, if you care so much. I don't.
I didn't bring that subject up, because it's -irrelevant- as our own company guidelines and contract states that baggers on lot duty can have water with them, and also because no one can seriously believe a US corporation is subject to UN regulations.
I never said anything about authoritarian regimes, or evil corporations, or my dramatic life. At MY store, we don't have ****ty-ass managers who try to make it so employees can't use the restrooms like adults. The original poster's store is apparently different, and run by imbeciles who think they can't possibly afford to go without a checker for a few minutes and so try to forbid employees from drinking water in a completely stupid attempt to prevent them from having to go to the bathroom. What absolute nonsense that is. I'm glad my store isn't run by either idiots, or people who agree with idiots.
There are actually numerous UN resolutions and documents either explicitly or implicitly recognizing access to water (and food) as a basic human right. However, this being the US, that doesn't really matter (this being the home of "enhanced interrogation techniques") so I'm not going to bother. But I'm kind of bedazzled by the attitude that drinking water while on lot duty is some sort of luxurious presumption (i.e. "everything you want is a right" or "fantasy world"). Dehydration and heat stroke are real things.
Now, people on the registers, well, it's a little less urgent for them.
But managers who get hissy over a bathroom break have some personal issues that go way beyond work. Maybe should find a different job. Prison guard, maybe.
Haha you live in fantasy land. No one says water for lot duty is a luxury. It's a health requirement and the company expects water to be provided for them. Cashiers have access to water during their before and after shifts, during contracted breaks and lunches. Unless you have a medical reason for more fluid intake and it's on file, just follow the rules.
There are actually numerous UN resolutions and documents either explicitly or implicitly recognizing access to water (and food) as a basic human right. However, this being the US, that doesn't really matter (this being the home of "enhanced interrogation techniques") so I'm not going to bother. But I'm kind of bedazzled by the attitude that drinking water while on lot duty is some sort of luxurious presumption (i.e. "everything you want is a right" or "fantasy world"). Dehydration and heat stroke are real things.
Now, people on the registers, well, it's a little less urgent for them.
But managers who get hissy over a bathroom break have some personal issues that go way beyond work. Maybe should find a different job. Prison guard, maybe.
There's a difference between mouthing off about something and proving it's there.
Like I said, show me said resolutions.
Oh dear, how dramatic your life is, living under an authoritarian regime and working for an evil corporation.
You can go ahead and research UN resolutions and human rights yourself, if you care so much. I don't.
I didn't bring that subject up, because it's -irrelevant- as our own company guidelines and contract states that baggers on lot duty can have water with them, and also because no one can seriously believe a US corporation is subject to UN regulations.
I never said anything about authoritarian regimes, or evil corporations, or my dramatic life. At MY store, we don't have ****ty-ass managers who try to make it so employees can't use the restrooms like adults. The original poster's store is apparently different, and run by imbeciles who think they can't possibly afford to go without a checker for a few minutes and so try to forbid employees from drinking water in a completely stupid attempt to prevent them from having to go to the bathroom. What absolute nonsense that is. I'm glad my store isn't run by either idiots, or people who agree with idiots.
Says the one who ones about water being a human right.
Then why not tell the OP to go file a lawsuit about this great injustice? Imagine the horror of someone who couldn't drink water for an hour! Or that poor cashier who has to stand at a register without something to drink!
What company guidelines? Kroger forces everything in union contracts, with "guidelines" only being supplemental to it. Those 12 or so pages you signed during your hire is what Kroger's guidelines are. The 100-page booklet contract that one gets is the main backbone of how things are in this corporation.
If you've got any sass with them, take it to management. Take a picture of your pink slip on your way out, eh?
When did humans find the need to be so hydrated all the time? On an 8 hour shift, I went 2-3 hours before my first break. Then 2 hours before my shift I went on break. Plenty of time. Plenty of water. Thirst is so overrated these days.
The coffee that your manager probably carries around in the morning is designed to keep him/ her from violating a contract by doing a job that should be done by a clerk.
Water at the registers? Look at all the ripe, juicy food coming down the belt. If that doesn't get your mouth watering, no amount of water will.
Liquids and registers don't mix. Barney Kroger didn't have water at the registers. neither do we clerks.
While water is a necessity, being inside and not having water all the time is acceptable unless you have a doctors note stating you need water constantly. But drinking that much eater means you need to pee more. And you can't just leave your register to urinate because you drank lots of water. Even we don't have drinks in the checkstands. Now lot service? You can drink as much water as you can hold, due to it being triple digits in the summer.
Um, Yes I can and you nor anyone else are allowed to stop me.
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