UPS Bathroom Break Lawsuit

Los Angeles, CAA UPS employee has sued the global shipping company for failing to provide suitable bathroom facilities to employees--primarily its drivers. The Private Attorneys General Act suit claims that UPS has violated other California Labor laws, including failure to provide a place of employment that is safe and healthful.

Plaintiff Tammie Barnet, on behalf of herself and all aggrieved employees, seeks civil penalties under the PAGA, according to the complaint, filed January 2025 in Los Angeles Superior Court. Because drivers do not have proper bathroom facilities, they are left with no choice but to relieve themselves in water bottles, usually on the road; they have nowhere to wash their hands and they have nowhere to properly dispose of urine-filled containers at the end of their shift. Barnet further noted that drivers are not provided with suitable places to dispose of unsanitary bathroom related items when they return to a UPS facility.

The complaint also describes trash cans overflowing with urine-filled containers that are left on the ground, vehicles, and throughout the facilities such as placed on shelves. And because these containers aren’t properly sealed, urine and bodily fluids leak into the workplace, which creates unhealthy work conditions. Barnet details instances that have occurred due to Defendant’s failure to provide bathrooms. For instance, urine-filled containers left on the ground have been “inadvertently crushed by the wheel of a vehicle, leading to a mess of human waste in the workplace”. And those conditions violate the California Labor Code.

Barnet has worked at UPS for a decade. For long periods of time, she and her co-workers were exposed to an unclean work environment while the company was aware of the issue and did nothing to settle it, according to court documents. So, about a year ago, she reached out to the California Labor and Workforce and Development Agency and the Division of Occupational Safety and Health, but those agencies didn’t provide any remedies or even a reaction. She informed the agencies again in July and still no reaction.

Barnet’s lawyer told Law360 that, ”Our client is also concerned about the health and safety related to consumers who receive unsanitary packages handled by these drivers…"I do not want to receive a package of toothpaste with someone who has not washed their hands after peeing in a delivery truck"."

Legally Compliant Bathrooms

The California labor code states that every employer shall furnish employment and a place of employment that is safe and healthful for the employee.

Every employer shall furnish and use safety devices and safeguards, and shall adopt and use practices, means, methods, operations, and processes which are reasonably adequate to render such employment and place of employment safe and healthful.

Employers are required to provide clean and sanitary bathrooms to employees, free of effluvia, which would include urine and other bodily fluids. These same standards apply to areas in the workplace outside the bathroom. California Labor Code requires places of business in which one or more persons are employed, shall be kept clean and free from the effluvia arising from any drain or other nuisance, and shall be provided, within reasonable access, with a sufficient number of toilet facilities for the use of the employees.

The case is Tammie Barnett v. United Parcel Service Inc. in the Superior Court of the State of California, County of Los Angeles.

Peeing in Bottles “Industry-Wide Issue”

UPS isn’t the only delivery company that forces its drivers to pee in bottles. In a blog post back in 2021, Amazon said, “We know that drivers can and do have trouble finding restrooms because of traffic or sometimes rural routes…This is a long-standing, industry-wide issue and is not specific to Amazon.” The post also embedded tweets that said urinating in bottles also occurs for drivers at FedEx, UPS and the U.S. Postal Service. Some drivers say finding a bathroom can take up too much time during a busy shift or is hard to find on rural delivery routes.

In its defense, UPS said its drivers have "ample time and resources" for restroom use. "We time study and plan all our routes with ample time for our drivers to use restrooms, and we train our drivers on those routes so they know where bathroom facilities are located that they can use.” Amazon backtracked and said the above blog was “incorrect” and posted on its News Account, “You don’t really believe the peeing in bottles thing, do you? If that were true, nobody would work for us.” But about a week later Fox Business  came up with the headline: “Ex-UPS driver says Amazon's pee-in-water-bottles problem isn't unique.”

In May 2023, three Amazon delivery drivers filed a class action lawsuit against the e-commerce behemoth, alleging they had to pee in bottles while on the job and “inhumane” working conditions prohibited them from stopping to go to the bathroom while working. 

Maybe you should think twice before shaking hands with your delivery driver.