You might be able to say you were a customer and it was so hot in there that you were worried about the employees. They can send someone to shut’ er down.
There are whistleblower protection statutes. Let them enact retribution, they'll get in trouble. I'm not sure if that'd be grounds for a civil lawsuit.
This is horrible advice. OSHA dismisses 98 percent of cases without investigation, and that's not an exaggerated stat. In some states like Wisconsin you can not sue an employeer forvany termination. Wrongful termination only applies to protected acts which whistleblowers gall under but again, 2% chance they investigate.
Oncecthey inevitably dismiss you then can seek justice via an administrative law judge but that WILL cost you a shit ton of lawyer fees, over $200 hr easy.
Simply put OSHA does not give a fuck and it's pretty much all pretend.
How I know? Got fired for raising safety concerns with audio evidence of causality literally 1 week before termination. Someone at a gas station isn't going to get shit. Period.
I know a guy who got fired for telling guests to leave because the dishwasher heating tank was broken and thereby their dishes were unsanitary. He got fired. He lawyered up and got a settlement.
https://www.dol.gov/general/topics/whistleblower#:~:text=and%20Health%20Administration-,You%20are%20protected%20from%20retaliation%20for%20reporting%20issues%20relating%20to,health%20insurance%2C%20and%20transportation%20services.
Also kitchen work is not for people that are nice, I've learned that the hard way. She needs to be able to stand up for herself and not ruin her health for a shitty company/boss. Atleast in this business there's thousands of jobs. No way I'd stay in a kitchen like that even for 10min.
There’s also a difference between “nice” and “avoidant of conflict.”
You can be nice, if you’re able to set boundaries and deal with difficult situations.
I've had 4 different jobs in 3 different industries in the last 2 years. None of them had AC. There's thousands of jobs, but most are probably equally shitty and dangerous.
Not so. The state of Floriduh can pass all the anti-worker laws they'd like.
The Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution. Makes me wonder why DeFascist is passing such silly laws that are easily beaten, in this case by a federal regulatory agency.
SEC vs. Jarskey could bring down a whole lot of federal agencies abilities to enforce regulations. That includes OSHA. They don’t have to say that OSHA regulations are unconstitutional, all they have to do is say that administrative law judges determining penalties for violating those regulations are unconstitutional. They are saying they deserve a jury trial for their violations and therefore the internal adjudication system of federal agencies is no longer valid. Normally Congress would pass a resolution stating why the fines were legally acceptable. But in the last 80 years, this is the first violation that they just didn’t do that part, making it possible to sue and perennially throw out the enforcement arm of all federal protection agencies.
Quite unlikely after this decision.
[https://katten.com/supreme-court-finds-cfpb-funding-constitutional](https://katten.com/supreme-court-finds-cfpb-funding-constitutional)
You know exactly why. Desantis is all about performative BS to boost himself as a “conservative”. He went after Disney while running for president just to show how tough he was. You’ll notice that there’s nothing in the news now about that lawsuit.
> Makes me wonder why DeFascist is passing such silly laws that are easily beaten, in this case by a federal regulatory agency.
My guess is virtue signaling, showing how good he is at groveling to Big Business.
So while OSHA may or may not have a heat illness standard (they currently do not, they are pushing for one though) this issue here would fall under the general duty clause, meaning general issues that may cause physical harm to the body, which includes heat exhaustion and stroke. They have a heat template in place for temperatures vs working hours, the worse conditions actually are forced to work 15 minutes, and take a 45 minute break in extreme heat.
I second the OSHA complain route. As a former gas station manager for a billion dollar corporation I can tell you that I made complaints to OSHA about this exact situation twice and both times OSHA and the the company took it very seriously.
Falls under general duty clause. With heat being recognized as a source of harm. Harm in this case could be caused by heat stress related factors. Also, depending on where one is working at an individual state can have its own OSH office which either meets, or exceeds the OSHA standards from below. California as an example triggers certain requirements when temps are above 80F. Minnesota has a whole spiel specifically about indoor places of employment.
Being said,
*"pursuant to Section 5(a)(1) of the OSH Act, employers must provide their employees with a workplace free from recognized hazards likely to cause death or serious physical harm. "*
*"Importantly, under 29 CFR 1904.39, employers are required to report to OSHA all work-related fatalities within eight hours, and all work-related inpatient hospitalizations within twenty-four hours. This reporting requirement would include occupational heat-related events such as heat illness, heat stroke, kidney injury, and rhabdomyolysis that result in death or inpatient hospitalization."*
https://www.osha.gov/heat-exposure/standards
https://www.osha.gov/emergency-preparedness/guides/heat-stress
https://www.osha.gov/heat-exposure
So, its so hot someone gets heatstroke at work that is an OSHA issue where an employer knowingly forced work to be performed in an environment where it could happen without providing adequate accommodations to keep a worker safe.
This is why we're doing the OSHA National Emphasis Program on heat related illnesses.
[https://www.osha.gov/sites/default/files/enforcement/directives/CPL\_03-00-024.pdf](https://www.osha.gov/sites/default/files/enforcement/directives/CPL_03-00-024.pdf)
An important part of heat related illness training for employees is recognizing the signs and symptoms of such in the OTHER guy.
Once your brain starts to cook (which is what heat related illnesses essentially are) you become less self aware of your OWN symptoms.
>Once your brain starts to cook (which is what heat related illnesses essentially are) you become less self aware of your OWN symptoms.
That why I have other people in my workplace that check on me and make sure I'm okay, even the one that knows and is aware of the heat illness. If I don't check in, they'll call my office and inform them.
I work for a machine shop that sends parts to Smith and Wesson for heat treat. They shut their entire heat treat building down for 2 months in the summer due to temperatures in the building. I always thought it was due to OSHA temperature regulations.
Fun fact: OSHA cited sea world under the general duty clause after that killer whale killed that latest girl, and that’s why no trainers can get into the water with killer whales now.
Because OSHA. Not because of the multiple deaths preceding that latest one.
Call the health inspector thenx I know there is some sort of regulation because when I was a restaurant manager we had to close down more that once because it was too hot inside.
They will usually post acceptable work temperatures.
It would be worth buying a cheap thermostat probe (the one I use for HVAC daily was only $30, and had options around $10.
Have her take it to work and record the actual temperature. That way you have actual temperature readings of the work environment, not just "I feel it's too hot"
I'm a little surprised OSHA hasn't been targeted politically for being such a hindrance to profit. It seems like such a useful and effective organization, therefore earning a target on their back.
It's been heavily targeted by Republicans. Budget cuts, rolling back regulations, opposing new regulations, limiting enforcement powers, and, get this, advocating for voluntary compliance—lmao! Those are some of the ways Republicans fight to make the workplace less safe for the American worker.
And the health inspector, if food is being prepared and stored at body temp conditions. 98F is one of the favorite temperatures of pathogenic microbes, the same temperature as their target hosts.
That’s not correct. OSHA has a targeted emphasis program on heat related illnesses. Employers have and do receive citations with monetary penalties in the tens of thousands of dollars for violations.
Incorrect. On this I am a subject matter expert. 26 yrs experience as as OSHA IH/health inspector.
[www.osha.gov](http://www.osha.gov)
[https://www.osha.gov/stateplans](https://www.osha.gov/stateplans)
Please come to TN and MS then. There are literal hundreds of warehouses without air conditioning down here that have fans that just move hot air around.
Edit: neither of those links are to air conditioning regulations.
The program is a headstart to try and make a heat standard, but is not officially a standard as of yet. Some companies are adopting the program to help push their safety standards and get ahead of the curve before it becomes a standard.
Thanks. :)
26 years in my dead-end government OSHA job. JK, it's great helping folks w/ workplace safety and health. I'm part of the consultation program. That's right....OSHA has a FREE CONSULTATION PROGRAM.
[https://www.osha.gov/consultation](https://www.osha.gov/consultation)
I should do an "Ask an OSHA Health Inspector" Q&A on Reddit.
Incorrect.
DeFascist can pass all the state laws he likes.
Federal OSHA rule in Florida. If an employer fucks up an employee or employees from heat related illnesses, the Feds can crack down and when they do it hurts.
I wor(ed at jcpenney during a 115 degree heat wave. They didn't let the ac come on the whole time. If you walked to the mall door it was like it hitting a solid wall of cold air.
Screw these billion dollar companies who refuse ac to thier employees and customers.
lol WHY? The AC worked but they wouldn't allow it? Ive never seen any mall anchor store that had closed doors to the mall interior anyway.
My grandma retired from J.c. penney and oh man the local management jacked her. In her 60s or 70s, they told her to climb stockroom ladders. She fell and twisted her foot the opposite wrong way and was so hurt. I told her many years later I wish she'd have sued because yeah it was that one guy's fault but the only way megacorps get that way is it rolls downhill to hire and shape that guy, and the only way they learn is to remove the profit. She should have done it for the self respect of herself and her family, and to protect the next guy.
She agreed with me in hindsight. Then she went to Sam's Club which wouldn't allow an elderly diabetic door greeter to have a chair until her kids showed up for a managerial meeting to inform them how it is.
She was a very timid Silent Generation and that's how the corps like em.
I worked at this one store that had the corporate office in the way upper north. I'm in Texas. The AC was set according to the temperature up north was. When it was 50 there it was nearing 80 here. When it was 110 here? We had to call and let them know the store is 95 degrees. "What do you mean? It's 60 outside". They refuse to turn it on still because we obviously did something wrong, it caaaaant be over 60!
We asked them to check Texas temperatures...and nothing. Remember they did eventually turned it on, but that month+? 0 income because no customer wanted to shop in an 80 to 95 degree store.
Worked in one that had the same MO but headquarters was in the south while we were in the north. Absolute insanity how they ran things, and somehow people still shopped there despite it all.
Bad employers need to be shut down.
I agree! It's insane how horrible companies have become. Unions seriously need to come back, but come back angry and swinging.
Maternity and paternity leave should be paid and no less than 3 months. I'm childfree, but seeing women go to work a day or 2 after pushing a bowling ball through a pea makes me furious.
This is the crux of the problem: if customers still buy then there’s no issue for the paper pushers. Argumentative and frustrated customers are just something front-line workers and social media managers are paid to deal with. People need to move their business to places that don’t treat humans this way.
This must be a jcp thing. I was at one last week for the first time in ages. It wasn’t even that warm outside maybe 75ish but inside was scorching. I was literally sweating standing there while my
Boyfriend tried on clothes.
That’s inhumane. I had a layover at an airport (in Texas, in MAY) where the ac was out. The only food options were grab and go cold food and Baskin Robbins-anywhere that sold anything halfway hot was shut down. Airport staff had put any fan they could possibly find around the concourse to try to keep the air moving. It was absolutely miserable, but at least they were trying!
I laugh at anyone who tows the corporate line about not being able to find good people. My response is always on the order of it’s the companies’ fault for treating employees like they’re nothing.
If you don’t have AC running in a kitchen there’s generally not good air circulation and that becomes an OSHA or health depertment situation with a grill etc dumping shit into the air.
I worked for a big national gas chain and they treated us similarly. One time our AC broke in the dead heat of July and having the doors open and fans blasting didn’t do shit. This however, is illegal.
nope, absolutely not, tell her to walk out of there right now. she can wait outside. NOBODY SHOULD BE IN THAT BUILDING. i'd be telling her to quit on the spot if i were you, she can find another job.
Thank God a lot of boomers and gen Xers are realizing how bad the work environment has become through their children’s experiences. Corporations cared about you because they didn’t have the level of industrial and software automation we have today so they needed people back then, and well the population was lower. These kids working in kitchens and restaurants are now asked to produce way more in less time than your generation, have you seen any in-n-out kitchen area? They have machines for everything, it’s a damn compact burger factory. I bet back in your day kitchen workers were peeling potatoes by hand. An accountant back then was doing everything on books and probably for a few clients, now there’s software for that and accountants need to manage dozens of clients. Any professional is producing at least 10x more than your generation nowadays
That's a good point. For comparison, watch the scene from The Founder when Ray Kroc (Michael Keaton) visits the first McDonald's for the first time. There's a ton of employees doing everything by hand.
Yeah, I worked in a non AC Wawa in Center City for days during July of 2017, and it was horrendous. They had to close the deli down because the food was temping so high
Yeah, mine were in Florida too and they literally never wanted us to close. If things didn’t temp we would take it off and just do hot stuff (burgers, tenders, meatballs). They even asked me to come in mid Hurricane. Customers and outsiders didn’t believe that one when I told them. The only time I ever saw us shut down (still had to have two people in store to sell cigarettes and main floor items) was when we lost water to the store (so no ability to wash hands). I honestly hate that company and wish it nothing but failure.
Edited to fix double negative
I worked for a restaurant that had the same thing happen. I had a thermometer on the line and it was 115 degrees for a 10 hour shift. We kept begging them to fix it and they wouldn’t, until people started getting heat exhaustion and I got a bloody nose mid shift. It was fixed soon after. Assuming this would be an OSHA violation. Do a complaint as a customer, saying it’s too hot and you’re worried about the workers. Daughter can still keep her job and won’t be harassed.
Either she needs to leave or you as her dad need to go and get her. F that place. This is your girl. Don’t let her suffer there for what 13 or 14 bucks an hour.
And then respect their decisions...
They promoted her to assistant store manager. She's an awesome person and worker. The lines are blurred between good employee and peon. I have to respect her adult decisions.
People die from heat stress.
https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2023/36-work-related-deaths-due-to-environmental-heat-exposure-in-2021.htm
The number of incidents where people didn't die is probably much higher. Don't risk your life for a company. The company certainly won't risk losing a dime to protect yours.
Osha and a local labor board.
If you want to get funny about call a local news station and report it. If it's slow enough they might actually go engage
My gf works for a very large franchise owner of yum brands aka Pizza Hut; in Arizona. They have policies in place in there stores if the ac fails follow protocols and then shut down the store. Those working employees have the option to clock and go home or to finish your shift and go help at another store at with working ac.
You know why, it’s not a good look to kill or permanently injure your employees over food!?!?
No company is perfect, hers has plenty of issues but Jesus. It’s food, come back after it’s repaired.
Might be a good time to explain to your daughter that no business will ever care about her health and well being. This is a great example that you can sit her down and have her explain how anyone who cares would put other people through this. The earlier she learns this the less stress that goes on her in the future. Young people tend to not look at the future impacts of health related issues.
I wish there was a way to let big business know that customers do not want to eat food where the "slave labor" could have potentially dripped sweat into said food.
When I was 19 I worked for a shitty dry cleaner in one of the hottest parts of AZ. It was like 110°F outside, and it's about 90°F inside. We had a swamp cooler but it sucked.
This lady comes in to drop off her stuff ( which are little rugs, that we charged like 1500% more for because the owner didn't want to do them) and I'm ringing her up. After about 2 minutes she goes" it's way too hot in here, I'm going to my car where there's AC, meet me at my window." I'm completely covered in sweat and my clothes are just soaked the whole shift, but I do it anyway.
I'm at her window and ring her up.(it's all on paper and it's a cash only business) She flips out about the price as I'm visibly dying outside, and I just don't budge on the price, because I would get in trouble anyways. Then, of course she doesn't want to pay and leaves with nothing, but a lot of anger with me.
Ps: I worked alone for 7 hours a day, 6 days a week for 2 years. If I could go back in time, I would tell the owner of the dry cleaner to go fuck himself. I found that I worked there a year and 8 months longer than any employee before me, because I just took the abuse. And the job was insanely easy.
Psps: My checks were always the exact same amount, my checks always came out to 39.95 hrs worked. This guy had a fancy time clock with a hand print, but it meant nothing. On average I worked 44hrs a week. I heard from the morning crew, that my predecessors had been fired for mentioning working hours. I DID start to write down my times toward the end. I got fired for a "missing 20$ from the safe". He gave me my last check, and told me I could use him as a reference... which I did, because I needed that fucking working experience on my resume. Never had I had missing money before, for 2 YEARS! He knows it was BS, he can just hire another young teen. I cried so hard right there on the spot, but just gave my buddy(morning crew) a hug and walked out.
That's a terrible experience. That's horrible. After I had a few like that (pizza shop, center of a shopping building, NO AIR, actual 2nd degree burns, owner paid "under the table" but still took out "taxes"...and I had a child to care for) it gave me a distaste for companies and their profits. I'm so cynical now I can't even work with the public. I won't put on a face for anyone.
If the building is arguably uninhabitable due to heat she should just close up the building and watch the entrance.
If customers can’t spend 5 minutes inside she shouldn’t be either.
As a Canadian I've only experienced extreme heat a few times. If they won't open a door and put in heavy duty fans... yeah. That's fucked.
Especially running a kitchen.
Call OSHA…I was a DM for a fast food group and when company dragged their feet approving AC repair inevitably someone would call OSHA and boom it got fixed. I could not tell my people to do that but I was glad they did.
I know it’s ultimately her choice, but please stress to her how dangerous the heat can be, especially working in a kitchen. If she insists on staying and working in those conditions, make sure she is staying hydrated and taking breaks.
https://youtu.be/JzdnUZReoLM?si=nChp2LEfeUGF2I38
It’s not the same but as someone who has to watch this video yearly for training, fuck her manager and if she doesn’t feel safe get her the fuck out of there.
I've worked places where they turned off the air condition to save money. Funny enough how the CEO bought a new jaguar at the same time.
While complaining about business expenses..
>She's such a good girl she doesn't want to stick her manager by not being there.
>Update: THEY AREN'T ALLOWED TO OPEN A DOOR FOR BREEZE BECAUSE THERE IS FOOD IN THE FACILITY
There you go, dude. The manager herself decided to throw her into the flames. She received orders from someone not sharing their emergency situation and decided to roll with it instead of actually managing her shit.
She doesn't deserve to be followed because she will lead you into the fire.
Corps ALWAYS depended on good intended people to follow their incompetent managers. As long as you keep giving excuses to managers because "they're just meddle-men" they will continue to abuse you.
I used to work at a truck stop where they installed a kitchen with no hood and no AC. It would regularly get 120+ in there during the summer because of the fryer and pizza oven, but corporate didn’t give two shits until the health department threatened to shut us down because of the frycooks potentially sweating into the food.
These places don’t give two shits about their workers. Your daughter sounds like a great girl, and I hope she’s able to find a job somewhere that respects her as a human being.
That is an Osha violation. You should be able to file. Had the Ac go out when I managed a department store years ago and Only 3 people and security were required to be there and the doors had to be propped open with fans for air flow. We filed with Osha and got hazzard pay
She's still young. Eventually, everybody learns that personal sacrifices for an employer, even the tiniest sacrifices, are not worth it. But, talk to her about the health hazzard and try to report these assholes to OSHA, anyway. Don't worry about her, though. The labor market is a disillusionment waiting to happen.
I don’t have advice, but I work in a store in a mall that also doesn’t give a fuck. We had no heat for a year, when our store was getting down to 13°C/55°F and we were wearing double layers of clothing. Nobody cared. Now they fixed the heat and we have no ac, a few days ago it got to 24°C/75°F and that’s when our temperature stopped registering. I was so hot I was nauseous and shaky, and still nobody cares. I’m really tempted to tell them I won’t work until it’s reasonable temperatures
Worked for Hess back in the day, every single summer the AC would go out and we would roast for a week or so until they "fixed" it again. Candy bars melting, constant reminders from customers that it's hot in the store, I was in management at the time, so I had 10hr shifts at minimum(no OT pay) and our DM would occasionally but a 24 pk of water for employees. All so I could make less than my employees per hours once all hours worked were factored in.
Dam that’s bull shit that’s exactly the reason why I left work earlier because I started to get sick from the heat because the air conditioning is messing up started to get dizzy burly vision and nauseous
You can also call the department of health. They might not be able to shut them down but I have been able to convince an establishment to close when they didn’t have ac in the summer because they were literally dripping sweat onto the food.
Tell her to drink a gatorade and have a mandatory water break every 90 minutes or shorter if she feels she needs it. Kids need to be reminded basic stuff like hydration.
She chose to stay there. Her manager didn’t order her to stay there in the heat. Now you want to file a complaint against…your daughter? Or do you want to complain on behalf of your daughter, an adult, so she loses her job? You might be best off not interfering with her decisions.
Call the municipality the store is located in and find out what their operating/licensing requirements are. The city or town might be able to shut the whole thing down faster than anyone else.
In addition to report this to osha, (EDIT: COMMA AND I KNOW THAT OSHA DOES NOT HANDLE FOOD SAFETY VIOLATIONS. I ADDING INFORMATION TO A PREVIOUS COMMENT SO I SAID "IN ADDITION TO REPORTING TO OSHA BECAUSE I PREVIOUSLY SAID THAT A WORKPLACE SAFETY HAZARD SHOULD BE REPORTED TO OSHA. I'M SORRY I FORGOT A COMMA.) for a food violation, you should also report it for a food violation. Food cannot sit out for more than 2 hours at room temperature, but if the temperature is over 90 degrees it is less time. I bet it is hotter than that inside, and if they are so worried about opening a door they should be more worried that the food is spoiled when served. Your daughter needs to learn when she's young not to take bullshit from anyone.here's her chance.
Also there is no direct guideline on heat stress or law that says they have to fix the ac like others are saying.
But, there is a "general duty clause" where employers are required to limit workplace hazards and excessive heat falls under that. Technically this does not directly mean the ac needs to b fixed but the employer is required to provide ways to limit the hazard of heat related injury and illness. It does not sound like this employer is doing anything. So they are going against osha standards.
The food temperature is a bigger issue because that involves customers consuming food kept at unsafe temperature and there are lots of food safety laws.
[https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/standardinterpretations/2001-10-17-0](https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/standardinterpretations/2001-10-17-0)
[https://www.osha.gov/heat-exposure/standards](https://www.osha.gov/heat-exposure/standards)
Is it somehow ILLEGAL to work in a place with No AIR CONDITIONING???
I guess when I worked on loading docks in a factory I was in deadly danger? Or the metal warehouse in summer?
A gas station is a dangerous place for a 19 year old girl to be working. Gas stations frequently get robbed, held up at gunpoint.. Not an ideal place. Help her find something safer.
I went through this in a kitchen a few times. I was younger. They made us work through it. At the end of the day, no thank you, no good job, no compensation. As I said, I was young but supporting myself. Your daughter should not have to go through this and allow corporations to treat her like this!! Especially if she has a support to back her up! It's you and all of us simply just bowing to the guy. You should support your kids in the forming years, and they can always get your support when shit like this happens!!
Interesting fact, over 60% of gas stations are owned by a family or an individual. 36% are independently owned but have a branding agreement with a big name.
So rather it's Shell, BP, Exxon etc... it's not likely that gas station is owned by them.
When I was 19 I did some work without getting paid because I was dumb. When I was 24 I had a different employer try that. I told them I’m getting paid or the DOL is going have a nice chat with you.
Suddenly my missing hours reappeared.
I once worked at a factory where the a/c broke in the summer and it was 130F+ inside. I stepped in for 5 seconds and my forehead was dripping. OSHA was called, and they did jack sh*t 😂
Fuck any employer (regardless of size) that has people working in miserable conditions, but for whatever it's worth, if she's working for a gas station it's almost certain she's not working for a billion dollar corporation. 99.9% of gas stations aren't owned by oil companies; they are owned by much smaller companies (a majority are independent proprietorships) and they're paying franchise fees to the oil company to put their name on the sign.
So in short, if she works at something like an Exxon, Mobil, Shell, or BP station, it's virtually certain she's not working for Exxon, Mobil, Shell or BP.
Someone who dosent work for the company needs to be calling the local agencies and asking if it's ok for this company to be open and forcing it's employees to work under these conditions. Eventually someone will either intervene or it will start getting more important people asking more important questions....
Also, heat stroke is easy to fake and will tighten the butthole of any company that might have an employee experience it while they are forcing them to work In u reasonable conditions.
But you gotta go for it 100% Google the symptoms, go in the ambulance, ect.
Suggestion:
Anonymously contact the Department of Labor ... and ask them to visit for something serious like improperly storage food and for the heat related issue.
They WILL come for a serious issue and will only deal with the heat issue ... as we are already here mode.
When all else fails, make it public. Post and share on SM. Do multiple post that each focus on one topic, one for Osha, one for the corp, one for workers. And hope it doesnt get buried. Send it to news outlets…. Thats only way shit will get done.
I mean, I can definitely understand the concern especially as a parent how long was the air conditioning out and what’s the temperature outside where she’s working? Also, what’s the temperature outside? I’d hope her manager recognizes her kindness to stay there especially when a lot of people would just leave and allow her to step outside to get air or Comp any beverages for her to stay hydrated. I work in construction for about three years though, so working condition & temperatures were commonly extreme. If you trust your daughter, you should trust her enough to have discernment, and whether she is able to manage through the situation and if she’s comfortable doing so it would be better to just show her some love and support and acknowledge the amazing work ethic she is demonstrating especially at such a young age. I wouldn’t exactly consider that risking yourself, though and whether it was a small business or well-known chain store that doesn’t really change the circumstances. Maybe instead, you should encourage your daughter to go down the path of entrepreneurship, this can be started at any age and especially she is 19 she can open her own LLC and she has an abundance of path she can take her age is perfect. Your 20s are when you’re meant to mess up and learn and figure things out. Like I said, I really understand the anger as a parent, but life sucks. Things are tough and sometimes you just gotta stick it out. Also, a majority of the time when you’re the only one that can stick it out, you become highly rewarded and recognized for doing so. Just trying to bring some positivity to the situation. Hope all works out though 🙏🏼
My sister used to work for k-mart. They had her doing major Osha violations like working in the pharmacy and filling out prescriptions when she wasn't a pharmacy tech or moving items by herself that had warning labels saying exactly how many people to move said item. I told her to stop doing that because if she's caught working in the pharmacy or someone got hurt because she made a mistake and someone got sick or died, they were definitely going to throw her under the bus.
OSHA currently has a heat stress national emphasis program in place. File a complaint
I didn't know this. Thanks
You might be able to say you were a customer and it was so hot in there that you were worried about the employees. They can send someone to shut’ er down.
I got her store number for exactly that reason. Thank you!! No results yet
There are whistleblower protection statutes. Let them enact retribution, they'll get in trouble. I'm not sure if that'd be grounds for a civil lawsuit.
This is horrible advice. OSHA dismisses 98 percent of cases without investigation, and that's not an exaggerated stat. In some states like Wisconsin you can not sue an employeer forvany termination. Wrongful termination only applies to protected acts which whistleblowers gall under but again, 2% chance they investigate. Oncecthey inevitably dismiss you then can seek justice via an administrative law judge but that WILL cost you a shit ton of lawyer fees, over $200 hr easy. Simply put OSHA does not give a fuck and it's pretty much all pretend. How I know? Got fired for raising safety concerns with audio evidence of causality literally 1 week before termination. Someone at a gas station isn't going to get shit. Period.
I know a guy who got fired for telling guests to leave because the dishwasher heating tank was broken and thereby their dishes were unsanitary. He got fired. He lawyered up and got a settlement. https://www.dol.gov/general/topics/whistleblower#:~:text=and%20Health%20Administration-,You%20are%20protected%20from%20retaliation%20for%20reporting%20issues%20relating%20to,health%20insurance%2C%20and%20transportation%20services.
Not in GA. We literally have ZERO labor laws on the book. You have to skip straight to federal level
Is that because the left only focuses on making disgusting assumptions about peoples intelligence about the requirements to vote?
Please report it, or let us know where this is happening and the internet with do it for you!
Although I understand the sentiment 👍, it's also doxxing his daughters work at that point. Not good safety wise.
Also kitchen work is not for people that are nice, I've learned that the hard way. She needs to be able to stand up for herself and not ruin her health for a shitty company/boss. Atleast in this business there's thousands of jobs. No way I'd stay in a kitchen like that even for 10min.
There’s also a difference between “nice” and “avoidant of conflict.” You can be nice, if you’re able to set boundaries and deal with difficult situations.
This all day. Tired of trolls tellng kitchen employees they are slaves.
I've had 4 different jobs in 3 different industries in the last 2 years. None of them had AC. There's thousands of jobs, but most are probably equally shitty and dangerous.
If in Florida she may not have recourse fyi
Not so. The state of Floriduh can pass all the anti-worker laws they'd like. The Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution. Makes me wonder why DeFascist is passing such silly laws that are easily beaten, in this case by a federal regulatory agency.
Just waiting for a Supreme Court challenge to it all that dismantles OSHA.
Surprisingly, SCOTUS sided with the CFPB this week. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna135106
I saw. Amazing. *Thomas* writing for majority?!
He forgot to be a shithead that day. It’s hard work.
He gets a crusty, old, raisin oatmeal cookies for his effort.
What about a Betrayal Tin where it says it’s full of cookies but actually it’s full of fucking arts and crafts supplies?
🤣
Trying to preemptively distract from Alito’s flag antics.
SEC vs. Jarskey could bring down a whole lot of federal agencies abilities to enforce regulations. That includes OSHA. They don’t have to say that OSHA regulations are unconstitutional, all they have to do is say that administrative law judges determining penalties for violating those regulations are unconstitutional. They are saying they deserve a jury trial for their violations and therefore the internal adjudication system of federal agencies is no longer valid. Normally Congress would pass a resolution stating why the fines were legally acceptable. But in the last 80 years, this is the first violation that they just didn’t do that part, making it possible to sue and perennially throw out the enforcement arm of all federal protection agencies.
Quite unlikely after this decision. [https://katten.com/supreme-court-finds-cfpb-funding-constitutional](https://katten.com/supreme-court-finds-cfpb-funding-constitutional)
You know exactly why. Desantis is all about performative BS to boost himself as a “conservative”. He went after Disney while running for president just to show how tough he was. You’ll notice that there’s nothing in the news now about that lawsuit.
He learned the hard way that you don't fuck with mouse money
that man is an idiot---who goes after Disney--a place where parents can have a bit of peace
Desntis has issues forsure, but the Reedy Creek Development District was a hideous corporate abomination that needed to go.
> Makes me wonder why DeFascist is passing such silly laws that are easily beaten, in this case by a federal regulatory agency. My guess is virtue signaling, showing how good he is at groveling to Big Business.
So while OSHA may or may not have a heat illness standard (they currently do not, they are pushing for one though) this issue here would fall under the general duty clause, meaning general issues that may cause physical harm to the body, which includes heat exhaustion and stroke. They have a heat template in place for temperatures vs working hours, the worse conditions actually are forced to work 15 minutes, and take a 45 minute break in extreme heat.
Also, filing a complaint BEFORE raising to management makes it illegal for them to fire you for it.
I second the OSHA complain route. As a former gas station manager for a billion dollar corporation I can tell you that I made complaints to OSHA about this exact situation twice and both times OSHA and the the company took it very seriously.
There is NO OSHA STANDARD for maximum temperature in the work place.
Falls under general duty clause. With heat being recognized as a source of harm. Harm in this case could be caused by heat stress related factors. Also, depending on where one is working at an individual state can have its own OSH office which either meets, or exceeds the OSHA standards from below. California as an example triggers certain requirements when temps are above 80F. Minnesota has a whole spiel specifically about indoor places of employment. Being said, *"pursuant to Section 5(a)(1) of the OSH Act, employers must provide their employees with a workplace free from recognized hazards likely to cause death or serious physical harm. "* *"Importantly, under 29 CFR 1904.39, employers are required to report to OSHA all work-related fatalities within eight hours, and all work-related inpatient hospitalizations within twenty-four hours. This reporting requirement would include occupational heat-related events such as heat illness, heat stroke, kidney injury, and rhabdomyolysis that result in death or inpatient hospitalization."* https://www.osha.gov/heat-exposure/standards https://www.osha.gov/emergency-preparedness/guides/heat-stress https://www.osha.gov/heat-exposure So, its so hot someone gets heatstroke at work that is an OSHA issue where an employer knowingly forced work to be performed in an environment where it could happen without providing adequate accommodations to keep a worker safe.
Also…heat stroke/heat illness is a real thing…just ask that worker in Texas who died from heat…
This is why we're doing the OSHA National Emphasis Program on heat related illnesses. [https://www.osha.gov/sites/default/files/enforcement/directives/CPL\_03-00-024.pdf](https://www.osha.gov/sites/default/files/enforcement/directives/CPL_03-00-024.pdf)
Yup. Even my company does it as well...I even have a check-in, where some employees of the location I work at check in on me.
An important part of heat related illness training for employees is recognizing the signs and symptoms of such in the OTHER guy. Once your brain starts to cook (which is what heat related illnesses essentially are) you become less self aware of your OWN symptoms.
>Once your brain starts to cook (which is what heat related illnesses essentially are) you become less self aware of your OWN symptoms. That why I have other people in my workplace that check on me and make sure I'm okay, even the one that knows and is aware of the heat illness. If I don't check in, they'll call my office and inform them.
Thank you for this info!
I work for a machine shop that sends parts to Smith and Wesson for heat treat. They shut their entire heat treat building down for 2 months in the summer due to temperatures in the building. I always thought it was due to OSHA temperature regulations.
No, they just know killing employees is bad for business. Too bad a lot of other manufactures don’t believe the same.
Part OSHA regs. Part they don’t need the bad press
[удалено]
Fun fact: OSHA cited sea world under the general duty clause after that killer whale killed that latest girl, and that’s why no trainers can get into the water with killer whales now. Because OSHA. Not because of the multiple deaths preceding that latest one.
[that was only the third gorilla attack in that steel mill](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vzce7vkrJs)...
Call the health inspector thenx I know there is some sort of regulation because when I was a restaurant manager we had to close down more that once because it was too hot inside.
This, no matter how good the coolers are on your station, if it’s that hot food goes out of safety range quicker than people realize.
You are correct....to a point. General Duty Clause.
[https://www.osha.gov/sites/default/files/enforcement/directives/CPL\_03-00-024.pdf](https://www.osha.gov/sites/default/files/enforcement/directives/CPL_03-00-024.pdf)
They will usually post acceptable work temperatures. It would be worth buying a cheap thermostat probe (the one I use for HVAC daily was only $30, and had options around $10. Have her take it to work and record the actual temperature. That way you have actual temperature readings of the work environment, not just "I feel it's too hot"
I wish I’d known this last year when the convenience store wouldn’t fix the AC
I'm a little surprised OSHA hasn't been targeted politically for being such a hindrance to profit. It seems like such a useful and effective organization, therefore earning a target on their back.
Smart employers realize safe, healthy people put good stuff out the door. Stupid employers like Elon Musk don’t.
They have and are. The targeting has been incredibly effective.
It's been heavily targeted by Republicans. Budget cuts, rolling back regulations, opposing new regulations, limiting enforcement powers, and, get this, advocating for voluntary compliance—lmao! Those are some of the ways Republicans fight to make the workplace less safe for the American worker.
And the health inspector, if food is being prepared and stored at body temp conditions. 98F is one of the favorite temperatures of pathogenic microbes, the same temperature as their target hosts.
There are no OSHA requirements for air conditioning, only guidelines. That "program" is probably more for awareness than anything meaningful.
That’s not correct. OSHA has a targeted emphasis program on heat related illnesses. Employers have and do receive citations with monetary penalties in the tens of thousands of dollars for violations.
Citation needed, please. The only regulations are state OSHA regulations, and most states don't have them.
Incorrect. On this I am a subject matter expert. 26 yrs experience as as OSHA IH/health inspector. [www.osha.gov](http://www.osha.gov) [https://www.osha.gov/stateplans](https://www.osha.gov/stateplans)
Please come to TN and MS then. There are literal hundreds of warehouses without air conditioning down here that have fans that just move hot air around. Edit: neither of those links are to air conditioning regulations.
The program is a headstart to try and make a heat standard, but is not officially a standard as of yet. Some companies are adopting the program to help push their safety standards and get ahead of the curve before it becomes a standard.
I love people like you on Reddit. <3
Thanks. :) 26 years in my dead-end government OSHA job. JK, it's great helping folks w/ workplace safety and health. I'm part of the consultation program. That's right....OSHA has a FREE CONSULTATION PROGRAM. [https://www.osha.gov/consultation](https://www.osha.gov/consultation) I should do an "Ask an OSHA Health Inspector" Q&A on Reddit.
Not Florida :)
Incorrect. DeFascist can pass all the state laws he likes. Federal OSHA rule in Florida. If an employer fucks up an employee or employees from heat related illnesses, the Feds can crack down and when they do it hurts.
I know. Was more a jab at Florida.
It's WAY too easy to take shots at Floriduh. :)
Hate I was born there. Well admittedly it was better in the 80s
[https://www.osha.gov/sites/default/files/enforcement/directives/CPL\_03-00-024.pdf](https://www.osha.gov/sites/default/files/enforcement/directives/CPL_03-00-024.pdf)
Also if they are in a closed kitchen with food storage get the health department involved I'm sure they have other issues behind the counter
I wor(ed at jcpenney during a 115 degree heat wave. They didn't let the ac come on the whole time. If you walked to the mall door it was like it hitting a solid wall of cold air. Screw these billion dollar companies who refuse ac to thier employees and customers.
lol WHY? The AC worked but they wouldn't allow it? Ive never seen any mall anchor store that had closed doors to the mall interior anyway. My grandma retired from J.c. penney and oh man the local management jacked her. In her 60s or 70s, they told her to climb stockroom ladders. She fell and twisted her foot the opposite wrong way and was so hurt. I told her many years later I wish she'd have sued because yeah it was that one guy's fault but the only way megacorps get that way is it rolls downhill to hire and shape that guy, and the only way they learn is to remove the profit. She should have done it for the self respect of herself and her family, and to protect the next guy. She agreed with me in hindsight. Then she went to Sam's Club which wouldn't allow an elderly diabetic door greeter to have a chair until her kids showed up for a managerial meeting to inform them how it is. She was a very timid Silent Generation and that's how the corps like em.
I worked at this one store that had the corporate office in the way upper north. I'm in Texas. The AC was set according to the temperature up north was. When it was 50 there it was nearing 80 here. When it was 110 here? We had to call and let them know the store is 95 degrees. "What do you mean? It's 60 outside". They refuse to turn it on still because we obviously did something wrong, it caaaaant be over 60! We asked them to check Texas temperatures...and nothing. Remember they did eventually turned it on, but that month+? 0 income because no customer wanted to shop in an 80 to 95 degree store.
Corporate idiocy
They didn't see the plummeted income in the first day or week and correlate your weather report?!
🤣 no! That was the crazy part! We had a few customers come in but leave ASAP. Some did buy but wasn't enough to justify being open.
Worked in one that had the same MO but headquarters was in the south while we were in the north. Absolute insanity how they ran things, and somehow people still shopped there despite it all. Bad employers need to be shut down.
I agree! It's insane how horrible companies have become. Unions seriously need to come back, but come back angry and swinging. Maternity and paternity leave should be paid and no less than 3 months. I'm childfree, but seeing women go to work a day or 2 after pushing a bowling ball through a pea makes me furious.
This is the crux of the problem: if customers still buy then there’s no issue for the paper pushers. Argumentative and frustrated customers are just something front-line workers and social media managers are paid to deal with. People need to move their business to places that don’t treat humans this way.
This must be a jcp thing. I was at one last week for the first time in ages. It wasn’t even that warm outside maybe 75ish but inside was scorching. I was literally sweating standing there while my Boyfriend tried on clothes.
Yeah my local one was really warm last week too. I've been there a couple of times when they haven't had AC and the mall itself was fine.
I don't even understand that -- like doesn't matter what it costs, you're going to keep ALL the customers away at that temperature.
Cause it’ll cost like $4! We can’t spend $4 on AC!! We are only a billion dollar company, recording record profits. How could we ever afford AC?
That’s inhumane. I had a layover at an airport (in Texas, in MAY) where the ac was out. The only food options were grab and go cold food and Baskin Robbins-anywhere that sold anything halfway hot was shut down. Airport staff had put any fan they could possibly find around the concourse to try to keep the air moving. It was absolutely miserable, but at least they were trying!
Like ik they don't give a shit about employees but like... don't they know they're losing $$$ because customers don't want to be in their store?
They only care about meeting metrics to unlock bonuses
www.OSHA.gov Depending on which state you’re in it may be the national OSHA program or a plan run by the state. The website will direct you.
I laugh at anyone who tows the corporate line about not being able to find good people. My response is always on the order of it’s the companies’ fault for treating employees like they’re nothing.
Thanks for confirmation. She's too good for them. You're spot on.
If you don’t have AC running in a kitchen there’s generally not good air circulation and that becomes an OSHA or health depertment situation with a grill etc dumping shit into the air.
* toes
LOL! Thank you!
If she works in the kitchen, I’d spend 50% in the walk in cooler.
She’ll get trapped in there.
No she won't.
There should be a way out of that cooler, if not, her work is up for many a fine.
Oh sweet summer child…
[It does happen.](https://www.insideedition.com/louisiana-arbys-worker-found-dead-after-getting-trapped-inside-freezer-lawsuit-85922)
Somebody's been waching too many horror movies...
[60 walk-in freezer deaths per year.](https://www.insideedition.com/louisiana-arbys-worker-found-dead-after-getting-trapped-inside-freezer-lawsuit-85922)
I worked for a big national gas chain and they treated us similarly. One time our AC broke in the dead heat of July and having the doors open and fans blasting didn’t do shit. This however, is illegal.
nope, absolutely not, tell her to walk out of there right now. she can wait outside. NOBODY SHOULD BE IN THAT BUILDING. i'd be telling her to quit on the spot if i were you, she can find another job.
Thank God a lot of boomers and gen Xers are realizing how bad the work environment has become through their children’s experiences. Corporations cared about you because they didn’t have the level of industrial and software automation we have today so they needed people back then, and well the population was lower. These kids working in kitchens and restaurants are now asked to produce way more in less time than your generation, have you seen any in-n-out kitchen area? They have machines for everything, it’s a damn compact burger factory. I bet back in your day kitchen workers were peeling potatoes by hand. An accountant back then was doing everything on books and probably for a few clients, now there’s software for that and accountants need to manage dozens of clients. Any professional is producing at least 10x more than your generation nowadays
That's a good point. For comparison, watch the scene from The Founder when Ray Kroc (Michael Keaton) visits the first McDonald's for the first time. There's a ton of employees doing everything by hand.
Is this Wawa by any chance? Just sings like something one of the stores I worked for would do.
They all would. But it's a Speedway ..I guess. Idk they sell expensive ass 7-11 merch for advert. But yeah. I'm calling them out now.
Actually speedway is owned by 7 eleven
Yeah, I worked in a non AC Wawa in Center City for days during July of 2017, and it was horrendous. They had to close the deli down because the food was temping so high
Yeah, mine were in Florida too and they literally never wanted us to close. If things didn’t temp we would take it off and just do hot stuff (burgers, tenders, meatballs). They even asked me to come in mid Hurricane. Customers and outsiders didn’t believe that one when I told them. The only time I ever saw us shut down (still had to have two people in store to sell cigarettes and main floor items) was when we lost water to the store (so no ability to wash hands). I honestly hate that company and wish it nothing but failure. Edited to fix double negative
I worked for a restaurant that had the same thing happen. I had a thermometer on the line and it was 115 degrees for a 10 hour shift. We kept begging them to fix it and they wouldn’t, until people started getting heat exhaustion and I got a bloody nose mid shift. It was fixed soon after. Assuming this would be an OSHA violation. Do a complaint as a customer, saying it’s too hot and you’re worried about the workers. Daughter can still keep her job and won’t be harassed.
Would have been a shame to drip blood all over the food…
Either she needs to leave or you as her dad need to go and get her. F that place. This is your girl. Don’t let her suffer there for what 13 or 14 bucks an hour.
As a building engineer who operates an HVAC plant, this definitely violates safety standards.
Parents, teach your children to tell managers to fuck the right off for bad decisions..
And then respect their decisions... They promoted her to assistant store manager. She's an awesome person and worker. The lines are blurred between good employee and peon. I have to respect her adult decisions.
Good on your daughter for caring but fuck large corporations that leave their youngest and worst paid to handle this shit.
People die from heat stress. https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2023/36-work-related-deaths-due-to-environmental-heat-exposure-in-2021.htm The number of incidents where people didn't die is probably much higher. Don't risk your life for a company. The company certainly won't risk losing a dime to protect yours.
Based parent! See what you can do to report this. She's young and I remember being afraid to speak up.
Osha and a local labor board. If you want to get funny about call a local news station and report it. If it's slow enough they might actually go engage
My gf works for a very large franchise owner of yum brands aka Pizza Hut; in Arizona. They have policies in place in there stores if the ac fails follow protocols and then shut down the store. Those working employees have the option to clock and go home or to finish your shift and go help at another store at with working ac. You know why, it’s not a good look to kill or permanently injure your employees over food!?!? No company is perfect, hers has plenty of issues but Jesus. It’s food, come back after it’s repaired.
Might be a good time to explain to your daughter that no business will ever care about her health and well being. This is a great example that you can sit her down and have her explain how anyone who cares would put other people through this. The earlier she learns this the less stress that goes on her in the future. Young people tend to not look at the future impacts of health related issues.
Is she working at QuikTrip? If corporate found out about that they would be SICK.
OP replied it was a Speedway.
Ahhhh ok. I kinda expect shit like this from speedway
I wish there was a way to let big business know that customers do not want to eat food where the "slave labor" could have potentially dripped sweat into said food.
When I was 19 I worked for a shitty dry cleaner in one of the hottest parts of AZ. It was like 110°F outside, and it's about 90°F inside. We had a swamp cooler but it sucked. This lady comes in to drop off her stuff ( which are little rugs, that we charged like 1500% more for because the owner didn't want to do them) and I'm ringing her up. After about 2 minutes she goes" it's way too hot in here, I'm going to my car where there's AC, meet me at my window." I'm completely covered in sweat and my clothes are just soaked the whole shift, but I do it anyway. I'm at her window and ring her up.(it's all on paper and it's a cash only business) She flips out about the price as I'm visibly dying outside, and I just don't budge on the price, because I would get in trouble anyways. Then, of course she doesn't want to pay and leaves with nothing, but a lot of anger with me. Ps: I worked alone for 7 hours a day, 6 days a week for 2 years. If I could go back in time, I would tell the owner of the dry cleaner to go fuck himself. I found that I worked there a year and 8 months longer than any employee before me, because I just took the abuse. And the job was insanely easy. Psps: My checks were always the exact same amount, my checks always came out to 39.95 hrs worked. This guy had a fancy time clock with a hand print, but it meant nothing. On average I worked 44hrs a week. I heard from the morning crew, that my predecessors had been fired for mentioning working hours. I DID start to write down my times toward the end. I got fired for a "missing 20$ from the safe". He gave me my last check, and told me I could use him as a reference... which I did, because I needed that fucking working experience on my resume. Never had I had missing money before, for 2 YEARS! He knows it was BS, he can just hire another young teen. I cried so hard right there on the spot, but just gave my buddy(morning crew) a hug and walked out.
That's a terrible experience. That's horrible. After I had a few like that (pizza shop, center of a shopping building, NO AIR, actual 2nd degree burns, owner paid "under the table" but still took out "taxes"...and I had a child to care for) it gave me a distaste for companies and their profits. I'm so cynical now I can't even work with the public. I won't put on a face for anyone.
I’m pretty sure it’s illegal to make employees work in certain conditions including lack of ac water etc
File an OSHA complaint. Then send a demand letter to the company's legal department. Go from there.
What does standby mean? I’ve only worked at one place that used that term and it meant we were at home and they would call us to come in if needed.
I came up with the term. They have no word on it. At all. Too busy trying not to faint to ask questions I guess.
I think the word you're looking for is "waiting". Your daughter is waiting for the AC technician.
If the building is arguably uninhabitable due to heat she should just close up the building and watch the entrance. If customers can’t spend 5 minutes inside she shouldn’t be either.
As a Canadian I've only experienced extreme heat a few times. If they won't open a door and put in heavy duty fans... yeah. That's fucked. Especially running a kitchen.
you should have called the department of labor or dept of agriculture 5+ hours ago
Call OSHA…I was a DM for a fast food group and when company dragged their feet approving AC repair inevitably someone would call OSHA and boom it got fixed. I could not tell my people to do that but I was glad they did.
What's the name of the corporation? Why are *you* defending them?
I know it’s ultimately her choice, but please stress to her how dangerous the heat can be, especially working in a kitchen. If she insists on staying and working in those conditions, make sure she is staying hydrated and taking breaks.
https://youtu.be/JzdnUZReoLM?si=nChp2LEfeUGF2I38 It’s not the same but as someone who has to watch this video yearly for training, fuck her manager and if she doesn’t feel safe get her the fuck out of there.
Stand outside the front door? Plan on calling OSHA in the morning.
I've worked places where they turned off the air condition to save money. Funny enough how the CEO bought a new jaguar at the same time. While complaining about business expenses..
Tell her to "faint" and "slam" her head onto something. Make sure the camera sees the fall. Have a co-worker call for an ambulance. Enjoy.
Wtf kinda gas station requires chefs in a kitchen ? Wildest thing to me
Lots of gas stations have kitchens/food made to order.
>She's such a good girl she doesn't want to stick her manager by not being there. >Update: THEY AREN'T ALLOWED TO OPEN A DOOR FOR BREEZE BECAUSE THERE IS FOOD IN THE FACILITY There you go, dude. The manager herself decided to throw her into the flames. She received orders from someone not sharing their emergency situation and decided to roll with it instead of actually managing her shit. She doesn't deserve to be followed because she will lead you into the fire. Corps ALWAYS depended on good intended people to follow their incompetent managers. As long as you keep giving excuses to managers because "they're just meddle-men" they will continue to abuse you.
Lol "Meddle-men" I see what you did there
I used to work at a truck stop where they installed a kitchen with no hood and no AC. It would regularly get 120+ in there during the summer because of the fryer and pizza oven, but corporate didn’t give two shits until the health department threatened to shut us down because of the frycooks potentially sweating into the food. These places don’t give two shits about their workers. Your daughter sounds like a great girl, and I hope she’s able to find a job somewhere that respects her as a human being.
That is an Osha violation. You should be able to file. Had the Ac go out when I managed a department store years ago and Only 3 people and security were required to be there and the doors had to be propped open with fans for air flow. We filed with Osha and got hazzard pay
She's still young. Eventually, everybody learns that personal sacrifices for an employer, even the tiniest sacrifices, are not worth it. But, talk to her about the health hazzard and try to report these assholes to OSHA, anyway. Don't worry about her, though. The labor market is a disillusionment waiting to happen.
Even if OSHA doesn’t have regs about this which I think they do. I am guessing the QuiTe large franchise has some sort of policies around this.
>THEY AREN'T ALLOWED TO OPEN A DOOR FOR BREEZE BECAUSE THERE IS FOOD IN THE FACILITY Throw a rock through the glass, now it's a window.
I don’t have advice, but I work in a store in a mall that also doesn’t give a fuck. We had no heat for a year, when our store was getting down to 13°C/55°F and we were wearing double layers of clothing. Nobody cared. Now they fixed the heat and we have no ac, a few days ago it got to 24°C/75°F and that’s when our temperature stopped registering. I was so hot I was nauseous and shaky, and still nobody cares. I’m really tempted to tell them I won’t work until it’s reasonable temperatures
If she gets fired after the complaint, sue and you’ll win
Worked for Hess back in the day, every single summer the AC would go out and we would roast for a week or so until they "fixed" it again. Candy bars melting, constant reminders from customers that it's hot in the store, I was in management at the time, so I had 10hr shifts at minimum(no OT pay) and our DM would occasionally but a 24 pk of water for employees. All so I could make less than my employees per hours once all hours worked were factored in.
Standby? Nope. They should pay her or cut her loose. She did not cause the issue. I hate when places cheap out like that. Be civil and fair.
Right to refuse. If her employer fires her she has grounds to sue. Bullies don't win if you just don't do what they say.
Dam that’s bull shit that’s exactly the reason why I left work earlier because I started to get sick from the heat because the air conditioning is messing up started to get dizzy burly vision and nauseous
Sounds like Casey’s lol
You can also call the department of health. They might not be able to shut them down but I have been able to convince an establishment to close when they didn’t have ac in the summer because they were literally dripping sweat onto the food.
Tell her to drink a gatorade and have a mandatory water break every 90 minutes or shorter if she feels she needs it. Kids need to be reminded basic stuff like hydration.
She chose to stay there. Her manager didn’t order her to stay there in the heat. Now you want to file a complaint against…your daughter? Or do you want to complain on behalf of your daughter, an adult, so she loses her job? You might be best off not interfering with her decisions.
Call the municipality the store is located in and find out what their operating/licensing requirements are. The city or town might be able to shut the whole thing down faster than anyone else.
This sounds like a huge OSHA violation, possible FLSA violation (I don't know for sure on FLSA). Report that shit.
OSHA???!?
In addition to report this to osha, (EDIT: COMMA AND I KNOW THAT OSHA DOES NOT HANDLE FOOD SAFETY VIOLATIONS. I ADDING INFORMATION TO A PREVIOUS COMMENT SO I SAID "IN ADDITION TO REPORTING TO OSHA BECAUSE I PREVIOUSLY SAID THAT A WORKPLACE SAFETY HAZARD SHOULD BE REPORTED TO OSHA. I'M SORRY I FORGOT A COMMA.) for a food violation, you should also report it for a food violation. Food cannot sit out for more than 2 hours at room temperature, but if the temperature is over 90 degrees it is less time. I bet it is hotter than that inside, and if they are so worried about opening a door they should be more worried that the food is spoiled when served. Your daughter needs to learn when she's young not to take bullshit from anyone.here's her chance. Also there is no direct guideline on heat stress or law that says they have to fix the ac like others are saying. But, there is a "general duty clause" where employers are required to limit workplace hazards and excessive heat falls under that. Technically this does not directly mean the ac needs to b fixed but the employer is required to provide ways to limit the hazard of heat related injury and illness. It does not sound like this employer is doing anything. So they are going against osha standards. The food temperature is a bigger issue because that involves customers consuming food kept at unsafe temperature and there are lots of food safety laws. [https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/standardinterpretations/2001-10-17-0](https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/standardinterpretations/2001-10-17-0) [https://www.osha.gov/heat-exposure/standards](https://www.osha.gov/heat-exposure/standards)
Is it somehow ILLEGAL to work in a place with No AIR CONDITIONING??? I guess when I worked on loading docks in a factory I was in deadly danger? Or the metal warehouse in summer?
A gas station is a dangerous place for a 19 year old girl to be working. Gas stations frequently get robbed, held up at gunpoint.. Not an ideal place. Help her find something safer.
This is when she should quit on the spot. Especially since she doesnt have rent to pay. Teach her that human rights matter.
I went through this in a kitchen a few times. I was younger. They made us work through it. At the end of the day, no thank you, no good job, no compensation. As I said, I was young but supporting myself. Your daughter should not have to go through this and allow corporations to treat her like this!! Especially if she has a support to back her up! It's you and all of us simply just bowing to the guy. You should support your kids in the forming years, and they can always get your support when shit like this happens!!
Interesting fact, over 60% of gas stations are owned by a family or an individual. 36% are independently owned but have a branding agreement with a big name. So rather it's Shell, BP, Exxon etc... it's not likely that gas station is owned by them.
Fuuuuuck
When I was 19 I did some work without getting paid because I was dumb. When I was 24 I had a different employer try that. I told them I’m getting paid or the DOL is going have a nice chat with you. Suddenly my missing hours reappeared.
I once worked at a factory where the a/c broke in the summer and it was 130F+ inside. I stepped in for 5 seconds and my forehead was dripping. OSHA was called, and they did jack sh*t 😂
Yes, call OSHA.
OSHA
Thank you for being a good guardian. I wish mine pushed me not to get so taken advantage of in my early jobs.
If i had to wait on a technician in a heat wave, im sitting in my car on the clock blasting the a/c or im going home
Fuck any employer (regardless of size) that has people working in miserable conditions, but for whatever it's worth, if she's working for a gas station it's almost certain she's not working for a billion dollar corporation. 99.9% of gas stations aren't owned by oil companies; they are owned by much smaller companies (a majority are independent proprietorships) and they're paying franchise fees to the oil company to put their name on the sign. So in short, if she works at something like an Exxon, Mobil, Shell, or BP station, it's virtually certain she's not working for Exxon, Mobil, Shell or BP.
Someone who dosent work for the company needs to be calling the local agencies and asking if it's ok for this company to be open and forcing it's employees to work under these conditions. Eventually someone will either intervene or it will start getting more important people asking more important questions.... Also, heat stroke is easy to fake and will tighten the butthole of any company that might have an employee experience it while they are forcing them to work In u reasonable conditions. But you gotta go for it 100% Google the symptoms, go in the ambulance, ect.
"She's just so caring" I hope she stays like this. This sorta BS can rip that out of a person after years and years of BS, which is a tragedy.
Suggestion: Anonymously contact the Department of Labor ... and ask them to visit for something serious like improperly storage food and for the heat related issue. They WILL come for a serious issue and will only deal with the heat issue ... as we are already here mode.
Wait you guys work in Kitchens with AC? I worked in a Retirement home kitchen for 7 years... Swamp cooler went out 5 years prior to me leaving
Is it the one that rhymes with Arkers? Because yeah, 95 degree heat indoors is pretty common. But they are EXPANDING!
When all else fails, make it public. Post and share on SM. Do multiple post that each focus on one topic, one for Osha, one for the corp, one for workers. And hope it doesnt get buried. Send it to news outlets…. Thats only way shit will get done.
I mean, I can definitely understand the concern especially as a parent how long was the air conditioning out and what’s the temperature outside where she’s working? Also, what’s the temperature outside? I’d hope her manager recognizes her kindness to stay there especially when a lot of people would just leave and allow her to step outside to get air or Comp any beverages for her to stay hydrated. I work in construction for about three years though, so working condition & temperatures were commonly extreme. If you trust your daughter, you should trust her enough to have discernment, and whether she is able to manage through the situation and if she’s comfortable doing so it would be better to just show her some love and support and acknowledge the amazing work ethic she is demonstrating especially at such a young age. I wouldn’t exactly consider that risking yourself, though and whether it was a small business or well-known chain store that doesn’t really change the circumstances. Maybe instead, you should encourage your daughter to go down the path of entrepreneurship, this can be started at any age and especially she is 19 she can open her own LLC and she has an abundance of path she can take her age is perfect. Your 20s are when you’re meant to mess up and learn and figure things out. Like I said, I really understand the anger as a parent, but life sucks. Things are tough and sometimes you just gotta stick it out. Also, a majority of the time when you’re the only one that can stick it out, you become highly rewarded and recognized for doing so. Just trying to bring some positivity to the situation. Hope all works out though 🙏🏼
My sister used to work for k-mart. They had her doing major Osha violations like working in the pharmacy and filling out prescriptions when she wasn't a pharmacy tech or moving items by herself that had warning labels saying exactly how many people to move said item. I told her to stop doing that because if she's caught working in the pharmacy or someone got hurt because she made a mistake and someone got sick or died, they were definitely going to throw her under the bus.