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Canadian Law of Work Forum (CLWF)
Employment RegulationHuman RightsLaw of Work ArchiveWrongful Dismissal

A Reporter Asked Me if Employers Should Have Masturbation Rooms

by David Doorey January 14, 2017
written by David Doorey January 14, 2017

I get a lot of media inquiries on matters of work law and industrial relations, but the latest caught me off guard.  I was busy catching up on emails and listening to voicemails in the background when I heard something like the following:

Professor Doorey, I’m looking for a comment on the growing trend of masturbation at work and how an employer might go about developing a masturbation policy.

I looked up from my computer.  At first I thought this might be a gag being played on me by a friend, like one of those crank call morning radio gags.  But the reporter then sent a follow up email.  It linked to a story from England that cited a psychology professor who argued that masturbation breaks would improve productivity and relieve workplace stress.  If true, then does that suggest that employers should consider encouraging masturbation breaks at the office?

Hhhhmmm.

Of course, as a lawyer and law prof, I come at the issue through a legal lens, and my first thought was that a “masturbation room” at work would almost certainly result in complaints by employees who find the whole idea icky.  Imagine a coworker saying “I’m stepping out for a few minutes to masturbate, be right back”.   It’s a short walk from that to complaints about sexual harassment and poisoned work environment.

My advice to the reporter is set out in the resulting article published by VICE.  I suggested a gym and encouragement of brief mini-work outs through the day is probably a smarter idea for employers.  Similar benefits, without all the messiness.

Pun intended.

David Doorey, “A Reporter Asked Me if Employers Should Have Masturbation Rooms” Canadian Law of Work Forum (January 14 2017): https://lawofwork.ca/masturbationrooms

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David Doorey

Professor Doorey is an Associate Professor of Work Law and Industrial Relations at York University. He is the Director of the School of HRM at York and Director of Osgoode Hall Law School’s executive LLM Program in Labour and Employment Law and on the Advisory Board of the Osgoode Certificate program in Labour Law. He is a Senior Research Associate at Harvard Law School’s Labor and Worklife Program and a member of the International Advisory Committee on Harvard University’s Clean Slate Project, which is re-imaging labor law for the 21st century

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@SCLSclinic and I were so fortunate to represent this client last year. I am thrilled that this decision brings more clarity for family status accommodations rights amidst a pandemic that has tested parents, caregivers, and families like never before. https://twitter.com/CanLawWorkForum/status/1364605259071561730

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Here's my latest in @jacobinmag.

If Ontario's labor laws applied in Alabama, the Amazon vote would have been held months ago so workers could get back to their jobs. Instead, the NLRA permits Amazon to conduct a months' long onslaught of anti-union propaganda. https://twitter.com/jacobinmag/status/1364613560425275392

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Amazon workers in Alabama are voting on whether to unionize, but the company is bombarding them with anti-union propaganda. In Canada, by contrast, votes are held quickly, making it harder for companies to stack the deck — a model that can work in the US. http://jacobinmag.com/2021/02/amazon-alabama-canada-labor-law-union-vote

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CanLawWorkForumCLWF@CanLawWorkForum·
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New from @RSandill (counsel for applicant), discussing important new "family status" discrimination decision from OHRT:

"Kovintharajah v. Paragon Linen & Laundry: When Failure to Accommodate Child Care Needs is “Family Status” Discrimination"

https://lawofwork.ca/13360-2/

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