Most Americans don't need reminding to do their jobs. It usually goes with showing up for work each day. Garbage men pick up garbage, teachers teach and accountants double-check their math.

In Boston, however, it seems that some mass-transit employees can't be trusted to stay awake. The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority recently posted memos along the Green Line of the subway, reminding workers not to sleep while working, along with other workplace policies, the Boston Herald reports.

A memo posted just before Christmas on the window of a staff booth sought to remind employees about the necessity to maintain "Attention to Duty."

As the Herald reports:

It then spells out the rule, stating "each employee must pay attention to his/her duties at all times." To maximize safe operations workers "must not engage in unnecessary conversation or engage in any form of horseplay or distracting behavior." And intercom use must be "used for operational purposes only."

Lastly, the rule states, "an employee must not sleep or give the appearance of sleeping while on duty."

An agency spokesman told the newspaper that the reminders were posted in response to incidents in which a Green Line worker used an intercom inappropriately and another "gave the appearance of being inattentive."

Regardless, the memo struck some riders as silly. "It's like being back in school again," said passenger Carla Halliday, 27, "like little children being reminded what to do in the morning."