CHAPEL HILL -- UNC-Chapel Hill will work to fairly enforce a rest policy after at least two housekeepers were suspended this summer for taking unauthorized breaks, an administrator said Wednesday.
The policy requires Facilities Services employees - housekeepers, grounds workers and others - to tell a supervisor before taking rests outside their one-hour lunch and two 15-minute breaks.
Four employees, including the housekeepers, were disciplined for breaking the rules, Van Dobson, executive director for Facilities Services, told the UNC-CH Employee Forum. The housekeepers were suspended for five days without pay, but their pay was later restored after management learned the employees did not know they could be punished for violating the policy, he said.
"I would just ask you to trust me that it's applied evenly and reasonably," Dobson said. Managers will discuss how best toenforce the policy at a meeting next month, he said.
About 40 people attended the meeting Wednesday, including forum delegates, housekeepers and a group of protesters who want the policy changed.
"There is a management culture that has to change," said Miriam Thompson, labor chairwoman for the Chapel Hill-Carrboro branch of the NAACP. "We need to recognize performance and not infantilize the workers when they take a rest during the day."
Dobson said the policy lets employees take brief breaks as needed, including bathroom breaks and water breaks, if they notify a supervisor first.
"As employees, we are all subject to discipline, subject to work rules - not just Facilities Services," he said. Choosing to take a rest without approval is a "matter of personal conduct," he said.
Several delegates asked what constitutes a legitimate break and said housekeepers and others should be judged on whether they get the job done.
But university officials maintained the rules are fair.
"We are stewards of taxpayer funds, so we do have to make sure that jobs are appropriate and that folks handle those jobs and opportunities appropriately," said Brenda Malone, vice chancellor for human resources at UNC-CH.
