Employer learns docking workers for bathroom breaks is a no-go

A growing number of employers are introducing rich benefits for their employees, ranging from paid paternity leave to dry cleaning

Then there's business publishing company American Future Systems Inc., which has been docking its workers for their bathroom breaks.

According to an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer, the U.S. Labor Department filed suit against the Malvern, Pennsylvania-based firm in 2012, saying the company allegedly violated the U.S. Fair Labor Standards Act because employees were not earning the minimum $7.25 per hour wage “due to the company's policy of requiring workers to clock out while they were going to the bathroom or grabbing coffee or a smoke.”

Last week the U.S. District Court in Philadelphia ordered the company to pay its employees $1.75 million in unpaid wages, according to the newspaper.

Blogger and attorney Jonathan T. Hyman, a partner with Meyers, Roman, Friedberg & Lewis in Cleveland, has already nominated American Future Systems as “the worst employer of 2016 (so far).” Clearly, it's going to be a tough one to beat, although it will take a while to flush out the competition.