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-   -   What constitutes an "unsafe work environment"? (https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/showthread.php?t=590595)

  • Aug 1, 2011, 03:42 PM
    Synnen
    What constitutes an "unsafe work environment"?
    My company is currently experiencing severe issues with power problems (caused at least partially by the local energy company). This has resulted in power surges, power losses, and "brown outs".

    It has also caused us to lose air conditioning in much of our building.

    My office is an interior office with no windows, and no air flow when the pumps for the heat/AC are out. We've remedied that in part with a box fan, but all it does is move hot air around

    I did not have a way to measure temperature in here today, but I would estimate that it was over 100 degrees in my office---it was 92 outside, and it felt cooler to go outside than it was in our office.

    I am 6 months pregnant, and have felt sick and light-headed all day.

    Now we were just informed that the outage is probably for another 3 weeks.

    One option given to us is that we can relocate to a cooler office with permission of a supervisor, but there are not enough open offices to accommodate everyone---and no one who works on a desktop PC (which I do, because of the sensitive nature of the information I handle) can move because there are no desktops left in open offices. So--only managers who have laptops are the people who can really move, and that's not really an option at all for me.

    Does this constitute an unsafe work environment? Does extreme heat in an office environment--while required to adhere to a dress code--make for an unhealthy/unsafe environment, and should I be talking to a lawyer? I'd be more likely to suck it up if I were not pregnant and already suffering from the heat--but this has just had me sick and close to tears all day. My supervisor can offer no real solutions to the situation--she's dealing with a hot office too--and HER supervisor is the one who came up with the solution of moving if you could (but I can't).

    What do I do next? I can't work in this environment for the next three weeks!
  • Aug 1, 2011, 03:50 PM
    AK lawyer
    Ah, Synnen. First, congratulations on the pregnancy.

    One would need to refer to the specific law concerning "unsafe work environment". There may be definitions or administrative remedies which would apply.

    But to begin with, I would get a note from your doctor.
  • Aug 1, 2011, 03:58 PM
    AK lawyer

    Then, armed with the doctor's professional opinion that the working conditions are not just unpleasant but also dangerous, in light of your condition, request that the employer make some sort of reasonable accommodation. Finding an extra laptop lying around should be do-able. In my limited experience, managers often have laptops because they are managers, not because they need them.

    If the employer is unable to work with you, contact the state labor department, your union if you work in a union shop, OSHA, or consider requesting leave under the Family Medical Leave Act.
  • Aug 1, 2011, 04:12 PM
    Synnen

    Thanks very much.

    I was afraid that the answer would be something complicated. I'll start with a call to my doctor tomorrow and see what happens from there. I'm also going to bring in a thermometer and take pictures at intervals throughout the day to prove I'm not exaggerating about the temperatures. It has taken some pretty interesting things to keep us all from dropping over from heat exhaustion today---wet towels, lots of water, ice cubes in front of the fan, that sort of thing.
  • Aug 1, 2011, 04:15 PM
    Synnen

    The only thing about using FMLA is that I would lose those weeks from my "maternity leave", since my company (like nearly all US companies, I'm finding out) doesn't actually HAVE maternity leave, much less PAID maternity leave. If I take FMLA, I have to come back after the delivery sooner than I want to--and I NEED all 12 weeks after the baby is born because I can't afford child care until that point (daycare under 12 weeks is seriously more than I make).

    I will start with the doctor and see what she says. I just know I can't handle 3 more weeks of high temperatures and no AC or air movement in my office.
  • Aug 1, 2011, 04:18 PM
    AK lawyer

    You are getting enough power for your desktop PC, but not enough for the A/C. This suggests that the problem is a result of a choice made by your employer, not entirely a problem just with your power company. I don't know what difference that may make, but it is interesting.
  • Aug 1, 2011, 04:25 PM
    Synnen

    That IS an interesting point, frankly.

    We've lost several servers as well as the AC, so maybe their thought is to keep us workign with the minimal tools possible.

    I do work for a post-secondary institution (proprietary, not state), so I'm sure part of the decision is to keep classes uninterrupted if possible.

    Classrooms are, by the way, the first areas the AC is being fixed.
  • Aug 1, 2011, 08:12 PM
    Fr_Chuck

    My wonderful office attached to the warehouse is not air conditioned and we only have a small bathroom type heater for the winter. It averages the last month about 95 top temp inside each day. Our wonderful company owner visited, we were trying to keep the door to the front offices open to allow some air to come back, he said it made the front too hot and closed our door.

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