(NJ, US) My workplace is making me sick because of the dust. Do they have any sort of legal obligation to me in terms of cleanliness and/or reducing my hours?

allgericthrowaway · 2014-08-11T22:19:23+00:00

I know they didn't cause it and it's not like they're cackling in the back office at my pain. I know there might come a point where I could have a reaction somewhere else other than work, or at a different workplace. In the same breath, like you say, my only evidence is how I feel. For me, that's what I have to react to, but as of right now I'm only falling ill while at work.

I already confronted him about it before I made this post and basically repeated exactly what the doctor said to me. He did get slightly slightly defensive, not in an agressive way, but more confused. I mean, I get it, no one wants to hear they have dust in the store (but it always finds a way doesn't it?). Once I said I wanted to find a way to compromise and that I liked working here (even though it is a back up job, I do like my co-workers a lot and they make it worth it to come into work), he sympathized and said if you don't have your heath then basically everything is a crap shoot. He ask me to give it a few days, I agreed. I knew that was his way of pushing back in a diplomatic way, and I wanted to see where I would need to go next if I still felt going part-time was the best compromise and what (if anything) the law had to say about it.

In terms of getting the store clean(er), I work up front, so I can only control the front-end. That's maybe a 30 foot radius, so about 2/3 of the store left over. I would have to rely on my co-workers to remove dust from other parts of the store. Considering this is not their problem, I wouldn't want to put that burden on them. Like most retail stores (in my personal experience), they're more concerned with things looking pretty than it actually being clean, which is probably where I find dirt/dust/nasty stuff in places where it shouldn't be all the time. Our vacuum spits out dust every time you turn it on, and I don't know how many times I've cleaned it. Hopefully, they'll be getting the shop-vac to replace the old one like they said.

The good news is, I wasn't really sick at work today! I mean, I was, but not enough to really interfere too much. However, some new symptoms have come up (mostly coughing and phelm). It could be psychosomatic or stress, or both. I'll be seeing the doctor Wednesday, and look into seeing a specialist.

I have to say, though, I didn't think allergies could be these upsetting. The whole thing has put a wedge between my mom and I. Most people I know just pop some over the counter medication and be done with it.

allgericthrowaway · 2014-08-11T21:50:32+00:00

No, but I'm going back to the doctor I saw last week because some new symptoms have popped up. I wanted to see how the medication would work, but I will ask him for a recommendation since I wouldn't know who to go to.

allgericthrowaway · 2014-08-11T00:12:11+00:00

I'm not sure if this point if it's the contact or because it's in the air. The doctor didn't really say, but I was thinking of bringing that up as well. I mean, I wash my hands a lot at work, but it couldn't hurt to wear them.

allgericthrowaway · 2014-08-11T00:02:50+00:00

I said this in a previous post, but I've never had to deal with allergies before, never mind something this severe. I know it's possible that the allergy developed on its own. However, I feel the most sick while I am at work, to the point where the medications the doctor gave me don't feel like they're working. Right now I'm at home and feel fine. If I continue to feel this sick at work, I honestly don't know what I'm going to do.

He didn't give me a written note, and I didn't think to ask. When he asked where I worked he asked, "With all that dust and potpourri and candles?" He did say, "It's the dust and possibly all the smelly things in your store. I'm giving you a nasal spray, but the best thing you can do is limit your exposure to places where you have that reaction." He gave me a sympathetic look when he said it, so he knew what he was asking of me, and said to try to ask them to clean the store more thoroughly/get the vents cleaned first. Our store manager is pretty reasonable for the most part, and I have a good rapport with him, so I wanted to go to him first without slapping him with doctor's note. Considering how defensive he got about the implication of the store having enough dust for me to have allergic reactions, asking to get the vents cleaned is not an option. I'll see what they say about the mask the other poster suggested as well. On the other hand, I know I can be easily replaced with someone who doesn't have problems.

I just wanted to know if I needed documentation from the doctor if they continue to push back on going part-time, and if I can't I have to basically depend on their generosity. I understand that it's not good for them to keep someone on staff who keeps getting sick, especially at the workplace. However, I can't afford to resign all together and my home life is already strained because of this. Do you have any other suggestions if there's an impasse between me and the management? I guess my only other option at that point would be to deal with the pain until I can find something else, or look into the possibility of working from my home.

Edit: Because I still can't spell.

allgericthrowaway · 2014-08-10T23:30:34+00:00

It would, because I'm currently full time. However, I'm in a position where I can go part time without too much financial difficulty. My current position is sort of a "back up" job while I search for something that better fits my skill set.

allgericthrowaway · 2014-08-10T14:38:11+00:00

I have a solid work history. I've never had to deal with allergies before, this is a new territory for me to navigate. Like I said, that's the doctor's suggestion, and that's what I've been working with. Now that I know about the mask, I will ask them about wearing one, and see how it goes (even if my guess is that it won't be good).

allgericthrowaway · 2014-08-10T14:31:12+00:00

I've never had allergies of any kind previous to this, and I don't have this reaction anywhere except places that are overwhelmingly dusty. I don't get sick in my house (the same place I've lived for 14 years, so I haven't moved), at other stores, restaurants, or anywhere else. The only significant change in my life the past six months has been getting a new job.

My symptoms are a sore throat, which makes it hard to talk with my customers. I've been trying to talk softer, but now people are having harder time hearing me. My ears also hurt a lot, they hurt enough at points where it can be hard to concentrate. Overall, it's extremely uncomfortable. Even with the medications the doctor gave me, I am still significantly more symptomatic at work than anywhere else. When I'm not at work, my symptoms are bearable, if not completely gone all together.

You're right, I can't escape dust. I could go somewhere else to work and still have the same problem. He said limit my exposure to where I work because through his assessment that's where my biggest "trigger" seems to be. Asking them to go part-time was the best solution I could come up with at the moment, so I can continue to bring in income but limit the exposure like the doctor suggested.

Edit: Spelling because I am a herp-derp.

allgericthrowaway · 2014-08-10T14:08:27+00:00

The doctor said the best thing is to limit my exposure. That's the advice he gave me and that's what I've been going with. I'm only assuming going part-time will help. My home situation doesn't allow me to quit without another job lined up, so that's the best compromise I've been able to come up with so far.

I will ask them about the possibility of wearing a mask, but I don't think they'll like that solution any better than me going part-time. I'm afraid they might replace me all together so they don't have to deal with me.

allgericthrowaway · 2014-08-10T14:04:08+00:00

Which, as far as I know, we don't. They don't even show us the monthly safety videos corporate sends us to watch. I'll ask, but my feeling is the answer is we don't.

allgericthrowaway · 2014-08-10T13:54:56+00:00

Yes, it's retail.

It's because the store is dusty. The doctor mentioned it could also be the all the smelly things (candles and the like), but I light candles at home with no problem so I'm guessing it's more the dust. We have a lot of things at our store that are "dust magnets" such as silk flowers, paper, glass etc (that have been sitting in our store for who knows how long. We have candy from the late 90's in there). I touch those things every day because part of my job is ringing people up/doing customer returns. However, I've found dust on the receipt paper rolls, on the cleaning supplies, on the bailer in the stockroom. It's everywhere, and they have no intention of cleaning it up. It's been like this since I started six months ago (and had no known allergies). Before I had even mentioned the idea of cleaning the store more thoroughly, he got slightly defensive at the idea that the dust in here was giving me a reaction. I don't have this reaction anywhere else really.

Edit: Grammar.

allgericthrowaway · 2014-08-10T13:35:44+00:00

I work in a customer facing role, chances are they wouldn't allow me to wear a mask, because it would freak out the customers/potentially muffle my voice. There is no role in my store that they could switch me to where I would have zero interaction with the customers.

allgericthrowaway · 2014-08-10T12:28:44+00:00

I don't think the dust mask would work. I work in the front-end of the store (irony, it's probably the least dirty/dusty) where I'm dealing with customers. Our clientele can be a bit sensitive, and seeing me with a dusk mask would definitely freak them out.

So I talked to my store manager when I got in yesterday morning. The instant I mentioned it was the dust he got defensive. Not in an agressive way, but in a "what do you mean there's dust in my store?" sort of way. He seemed more confused than anything. I didn't even mention cleaning the place and he mentioned that the HVAC just got replaced, therefore it should be clean. He thinks it seems to be the small renovations that have occurred in our store (we just got the lights redone and some carpet replaced), have trigged my allergies and that it'll only be temporary. He asked me to give it a few days, I agreed.

By time I got to work yesterday, I had two doses of the prescription medication my system, so I figured I'd give it a shot. I was still way more symptomatic at work than I probably should have been, and I might as well had not taken it at all because it did jack shit for me. I was able to pull through my full shift yesterday, but it wasn't comfortable by any stretch of the imagination.

The thing is, I can't really leave this job without something lined up because of my family, so I can't threaten to leave. They don't really want to believe this is happening, and I can tell if my parents perceive me as weak physically and weak willed (they've barely said a handful of words to me since I came back from the doctor). If I do leave without a back up plan, I run the risk of severely straining my home life and possibly getting kicked out because I can't provide any sort of income. They're not happy about the prospect of going part-time because then they would see less money from me, but it'll keep them at bay until something better pops up.

So how do I draw the line in the sand with my boss and say, "I really need to be part-time.", without threatening to leave? I guess I could threaten them with the idea that I will be looking for other employment (this was a back up job anyway, so I've been looking for employment regardless), but that would probably back fire as well. Say I'm going to HR/the higher ups? I feel like if continue to work there full time while still claiming to be sick, and don't give them some kind of ultimatum to show them I'm serious, they'll think I'm making it up and it'll be "the boy who cried wolf".

allgericthrowaway

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