I'm currently a delivery driver, and as of the past year i've come into a condition, likely sibo, which has made my bathroom habits… erratic and unpredictable, to say the least. I will attempt to keep descriptions of it to a minimum, but bathroom times are still going to be mentioned as it's the core issue that's being dealt with. I wish I didn't have to make a post about something like that, but i don't know what else to do.
This is a bit of a long one, as I feel a fair amount of context is necessary.
My managers, one specifically, have been treating me kinda trash about it since it started, making audible grunts/comments of annoyance when they see i've been in there for maybe 2 minutes, with another manager that goes from nice to passive aggressive and rude any time i have to use the bathroom when he wants help making food (which, while I'm able to make food, I have not gotten the raise for it because there's some videos that you need to complete… despite me being a manager at another establishment… and so I have no actual obligation to help, yet still do). Sometimes i will admit that im forced to be in there for 20 minutes at a time, but never more than 35 and trips like that are only once or twice a day and not every day, something i cannot control. There are some days where i just dont need to go at all. I have been made to feel like I don't care about my work and that I'm an unhelpful employee on multiple occasions due to this thing that has taken over my life and already filled me with a sense of shame at how often it whisks me away from whatever I'm wanting to do, sometimes once every hour. Though my average time is 10-15, they have exaggerated into saying that it's 40 minute breaks and that I have an aggregate of 2 hours in the bathroom per day which is simply not true. I've started timing myself when i go using the stopwatch feature on my phone.
The issue came yesterday, when my manager (the one who has been most annoying about it) brought me outside to tell me that i have to clock out for my bathroom breaks. She gave me this whole spiel about how it's my fault that ADT (Average Delivery Times) for night shift are low since i'm the morning driver and sometimes i'm late (i am usually only 3 or so minutes late because i struggle to wake up in the mornings and getting ready takes me forever.), but i've only been over 10 minutes late roughly 3/4 times, each one excused by something outside of my control like a tire blowing on the way to work, being pulled over, being kept up all night with some kinda sick, you get the idea. I've been repeatedly harried about these events and have been told on multiple occasions that it shows a lack of work ethic because it doesnt matter my reason why because there's “no reason to be late if you have good work ethic”. For reference, the manager who said this is both the supervisor's daughter AND is casually at least 30+ minutes late to a good amount of her shifts, and she overpreps on one of her morning shifts specifically so she can come in late the next day(which honestly i have no problem with but imo if your thought process is “there's no excuse to be late” then this is just hypocrisy). I will admit that being late is an issue i need to work on, but I have literally only came in to a delivery waiting for me on one or two days, and those were days that they came in literally right at opening.
For reference, I check my ADTs. I have the highest out of most of our drivers, and i keep them consistently low until night shift comes in. Night shift will get 20 orders over the course of 5 minutes and they only have 4 drivers, so the ADT shoots up WAY high. But, because on TWO days I had to use the bathroom as soon as I arrived (something i felt deeply ashamed of, because they consistently treat me like going to the bathroom is a sign that I just don't want to work) and even though on both of those days I did not have any runs to take for at least the first hour and half, which i was out and working for the majority of, and because i took 5 minute breaks a couple of times yesterday between runs because sometimes i'll just need to go back to back like 3 times for genuinely no understandable reason (which again makes me feel awful for multiple reasons) the manager chose to contact her mother and complain about how often i use the bathroom, leading to the present.
Due to all of this buildup, I must admit that i got really upset and threw out “This is illegal and i will push legal action if you try to force this” in the discussion and was too nervous and worried about the ramifications of that action to rescind it. Due to this, I have been ordered to meet with the owner of the franchise and some other people to decide my fate, whether i keep my job or not. In my opinion, it's fucking silly that they're trying to dock my pay by discriminating against me for an illness that I both cannot control and the medical system is being too incompetent to help solve in a reasonable time frame. I want to make note that this condition gives me systematic issues as well such as brain fog, random pains, headaches, i get double vision far more, I'm more exhausted all of the time, my insides hurt, etc. A lot of these symptoms, especially brain fog, can get worse the longer I try to hold it. I have tried on many occasions and the longer I go the shittier I feel, and sometimes waiting just makes it so that i can't go at all, so holding it simply is not a long-term option. Sometimes it is too urgent and waiting isn't a short-term option.
Everywhere I've looked seems to directly say that employers may not make any rule restricting the usage of the bathroom, OSHA has a rule stating it, and by law breaks in general, not just bathroom breaks, are considered compensable for at least up to 25 minutes.
Does anyone have any advice for this situation, specifically the meeting? I'm not quite sure what I should do or how to go from here, as I need this job until i can find a new one. Any help is greatly appreciated, and thank you/sorry for having to read this Commode Manifesto of a post.