Hello, everyone --

I am hoping that some of you who have been employers can help me with this situation.

My 74 year-old mother has a friend (in her 50's perhaps? maybe near 60?) who works as a "gatekeeper" for a private company. I do not know if she is salaried or paid hourly, but the conditions sound appalling (if she is not exaggerating).

She is alone at the gate and must inspect each truck that comes in or goes out. She allegedly gets no bathroom breaks and no lunch break, and she is expected to work more than 8 hours at a stretch. Sometimes the trucks get backed up because the inspection process takes time and the drivers get ticked off, possibly verbally abusive.

My opinion is that there are labor laws to protect people against this sort of job-hell, and so I have told my mother. But, because I am just her kid and thus can't possibly know anything, my mother just replies that "they are a private company and can do anything they want."

My hope is that someone on the board will know of some resource to which I can refer my mother and her friend so that they can acquaint themselves with worker's rights issues as they might related to this lady's situation.

I will appreciate any information.

Rider
(who hopes with all her heart that she NEVER feels so trapped in a job that she would put up with conditions like those)