RonJeremy Posted January 28, 2005 Share Posted January 28, 2005 I came into work this morning to find that the pipes are frozen in our office. I called my boss and said we have no water and more importantly no toilet. He said to call a plumber and told me what company to call. He said we would be "fine" since their is a McDonalds down the street...."Just use their bathrooms." I called the plumber and shockingly he couldn't get to us until LATE this afternoon....2:45 p.m. here and still no plumber. It is fine for me...I grabbed some Chicken Selects during my last trip over there. BUT The reason I ask if it is illegal for us to be at work because of this situation...is that I have a co-worker crying all day about this and swearing it is illegal....does anyone know?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kilmer17 Posted January 28, 2005 Share Posted January 28, 2005 Not illegal, but certainly not very nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
portisizzle Posted January 28, 2005 Share Posted January 28, 2005 Send her home for the day. Save yourself the headache. :2cents: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
@DCGoldPants Posted January 28, 2005 Share Posted January 28, 2005 I think I agree with Kilmer on this one. Its just wrong. I think you NEED to have a working phone.......but plumming......sorry Cleatus, I don't know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ntotoro Posted January 28, 2005 Share Posted January 28, 2005 I thought a workplace was only legal to occupy if it had functioning bathrooms... ? I built the IT stuff in the Home Depot in Merrifield back in '93-'94 and remembered we weren't legally allowed to do any work in there until the plumbing was complete. Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RonJeremy Posted January 28, 2005 Author Share Posted January 28, 2005 Originally posted by portisizzle Send her home for the day. Save yourself the headache. :2cents: I would have FIRED her (but that is another story)...but I am not her direct supervisor. My crew is doing just fine. But we have some "whiners" in the other department. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cracka Posted January 28, 2005 Share Posted January 28, 2005 So tell her to go, but dont flush.. :pooh: :pooh: :pooh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoCommiesGo Posted January 28, 2005 Share Posted January 28, 2005 I'm with Ntotoro I though it was illegal to not have a functioning bathroom. I might be wrong but if theirs a certain amount of employees in the building don't you have to? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Art Posted January 28, 2005 Share Posted January 28, 2005 If you are in a right to work state, fire the person and say, "It might not be legal, but this is." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Predicto Posted January 28, 2005 Share Posted January 28, 2005 I do not think it is illegal if it is a temporary situation like this one, where you are getting it fixed. I do think it is illegal in most states to make employees work in a workplace with no bathroom facilities at all.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seanskins Posted January 28, 2005 Share Posted January 28, 2005 if it is yellow, let it mellow!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nerm Posted January 29, 2005 Share Posted January 29, 2005 Originally posted by seanskins if it is yellow, let it mellow!! To paraphrase Frasier Crane "Ah, advice that rhymes... you can’t go wrong!” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost of Posted January 29, 2005 Share Posted January 29, 2005 LOL someone is whining about a temporary problem with the bathrooms? What the ?? By her bizarre logic, at the moment the bathroom stops functioning(for whatever reason) then the boss is breaking the law by having you work, despite the fact there is an alternative restroom, however inconvenient and diminished in privacy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Destino Posted January 29, 2005 Share Posted January 29, 2005 Not sure if it's always the same but I had a no running water situation back when I was 15 working at the pizza place. They had to close becasue the boss said being open was illegal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dahogs Posted January 29, 2005 Share Posted January 29, 2005 Personally, I'd probably cut everyone loose; What if there's a pregnant woman, or someone with a kidney ailment? Maybe I'd offer comp time for anyone willing to stay? There are good ways to manage a problem like this without exposing yourself to some form of complaint or litigation. You can never be too careful in a litigious and highly regulated society such as ours, and being fair is what good management is all about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Posted January 29, 2005 Share Posted January 29, 2005 Originally posted by Destino Not sure if it's always the same but I had a no running water situation back when I was 15 working at the pizza place. They had to close becasue the boss said being open was illegal. Many places have health codes that make it illegal for restaurants to operate without restrooms. Don't know about non-restaurants. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bugs' Posted January 29, 2005 Share Posted January 29, 2005 My boss did the same thing, but we had no idea how long it would take for the plumbing to start working again....luckily, it started working again in an hour.... I don't think it is illegal, but I think it is a good way to get your staff discontented with their boss and work environment....it tells me as an employee that his bottom line is more important than us...(which we all know it is, but at least fake it;) ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rick301 Posted January 29, 2005 Share Posted January 29, 2005 If the pipes were frozed then I suppose the sprinklers were not operable? If that is the case, it may be a fire code violation to be in that space. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Montilar Posted January 29, 2005 Share Posted January 29, 2005 Not sure if it's always the same but I had a no running water situation back when I was 15 working at the pizza place. They had to close becasue the boss said being open was illegal. The restaurants HAVE to have running hot and cold water and restrooms. Well, any food handling operation; not just restaurants. Any food establishment handling foods have to have a potable water source for use in the foods or for use in cleaning utensils. And they have to have an adequate means of desposing of the waste (grease, the dirty water from washing of equipment and utensils....). So they have to have working plumbing. Not to mention the food handlers have to be able to wash their hands. As far as the bathroom, restaurants have to have public restrooms; food stores or other food establishments do not have to have a public restroom. They just have to have a restroom for the employees to use. As far as non-food offices or buildings, I don't know. since it's a temporary occurance, probably having access clseby is acceptable as a quick temporary measure while waiting for it to be fixed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TK Posted January 29, 2005 Share Posted January 29, 2005 I had a similar problem a few years ago at an old job. My schedule was an 11 hour day. I was the only one in the store that day. The heat was out. The female employee that had covered my store the day before while I was off, had flushed something down the toliet. Something that is designed to expand when it absorbs, if you get my meaning. There I am stuck working retail for 11 hours. Alone. With no toliet. No heat. I see my breath when I exhaled. The plummer can't get there until the next day. Turns out, the same company that had the plumming contract also had the HVAC contract. The company won't let me close the store & go work at anonther location in town. I called the Dept. of Labor. I explained the situation & asked if it was legal. Here's what they told me : It's LEGAL. Reason being, people work in adverse conditions everyday. They used construction workers as their prime example. So, I grabed $20 outta petty cash, closed the store for a half hour & went to K-Mart & bought a space heater. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Montilar Posted January 29, 2005 Share Posted January 29, 2005 Left a little tidbit out of mine above. A food store can remain open under those conditions. But it should only be selling prepackaged foods. Nothing open or unpackaged. They lose the restroom and water, they are supposed to not handle any foods. No hot dogs, nothing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimboDaMan Posted January 29, 2005 Share Posted January 29, 2005 Might be legal from a employment perspective. But last year my place of work, a 12-story office building, had no running water one day. After an hour or so, when it was clear it would not be fixed immediately, they were told they couldn't have occupancy until service was restored (some sort of code violation), and we sent hundreds of people home. Not sure why RJ's co-worker spent the day sobbing about it, though. Mickey D's toilets ain't that nasty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.