‘Not for employee use’: why are US retail workers being denied chairs?

Employees condemn workplaces that deny them rest, leaving them in pain and leading to class-action suits

When Zay clocked into her customer service job one recent morning, she noticed things looked different. There were no chairs in the break room. She had nowhere to sit at the table where she usually files invoices. When she reached the back of the store, there was one lonely folding chair propped against the wall. Not for employee use," read a handwritten note taped on the metal.

When employees asked their boss what had happened, they learned about a new no-sitting policy. Hopefully, the business owner said, this would increase worker productivity".