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After 4 p.m. each day, his wife picked up three of the four kids from the babysitter and daycare, went to the grocery store, made dinner, helped with homework and cared for the children until Guilbault arrived home at 7:15 p.m. One childwith special needs required exercises his wife could not handle on her own.

In January 2013 he asked his supervisor if he could take his two 15-minute breaks at the end of the day, allowing him to leave half an hour earlier to help his wife.

Thus began grievances and human rights complaints that were only resolved four years later, in January 2017, with a ruling by the Public Service Labour Relations and Employment Board.

His boss, Isabelle Veilleux, then a lieutenant-colonel, testified that combining breaks to leave early was a widespread problem, calling it “a curse.” The breaks were part of the union contract, important for “employee health and well-being” and should be used as intended, she said.

Leaving early could also create a “civil liability problem,” said Veilleux; if the employee were to get into an accident, the employer would be responsible.

Veilleux suggested Guilbault work a compressed week, vary his schedule, work part-time, start work earlier, drive his car to reduce commuting time, or change daycares.

Veilleux said those options wouldn’t solve his dinner-hour time crunch and weren’t financially or logistically possible. Driving would cost more and might not be faster, given Montreal’s rush hour. He could not afford to work part time.