Ex-Receptionist Sues Littler Over Alleged Lack of Bathroom Breaks

Updated: A former receptionist in a suburban Washington, D.C., office of a national labor and employment boutique has sued her ex-employer over an alleged lack of bathroom breaks.

Plaintiff Rebecca Landrith contends in the D.C. Superior Court suit that the McLean, Va., office of Littler Mendelson had no formal policy or procedure about her bathroom breaks. It was so difficult to find someone to substitute for her while she took a break there, she alleges, that she twice "wet her pants" at the reception desk, reports the Washington Business Journal.

Two weeks after she complained about the lack of bathroom breaks to the firm's general counsel, she was fired, the suit contends.

However, the firm says in its answer to the suit that her claims are unfounded and have no merit, notes Tom Flaherty, the managing shareholder for the firm's McLean office. Landrith "was told repeatedly to take restroom breaks as and when needed," he tells the ABA Journal, and her backup options included simply forwarding the phones in the McLean office to the firm's Washington, D.C., receptionist, as well as finding a substitute in the McLean office.

The claimed bathroom breaks issue also was not the reason why she was terminated, he states: "We're in, like everyone else, an economy where it's particularly important to be careful about costs," Flaherty says of Littler, and "we just did not need the position any longer. A decision was made quite a while before she was actually let go to eliminate the position, and it's remained unfilled, so it's certainly not a sham job elimination, as the complaint says."

Hat tip: Above the Law.

Related earlier coverage:

ABAJournal.com: "Morgan Lewis Tops List of Go-To Law Firms for Fortune 100"

ABAJournal.com: "Top Law Firms Named for Working Moms; 62% Allow Full-Time Telecommuting"

Updated on Aug. 31 to include comment from Flaherty in telephone interview on Aug. 31.