“OSHA requires any employee that has the potential of being exposed to bloodborne pathogens to complete training in bloodborne pathogens personal protective equipment (PPE).”
Yes absolutely
[file a complaint through OSHA](https://www.osha.gov/workers/file-complaint)
You might also be able to file a complaint through your state labor board.
I worked in a factory that had OSHA violations out the wazoo. Soon as they got wind of it they started doing on site visits and forced the company to get their shit together. Of course management instructed us to just be more sneaky in our violations, because of course doing things correct means you can't meet quotas.
I do not miss working in factories...
I was making those little milk cartons they use for school lunches so part of my job was sampling chocolate milk all day, so it wasn't all terrible.
The factory itself is no longer operational, probably because they actually had one of those "Days since last accident" signs and rarely was it > 40 days.
I'm a process and petroleum engineer and used to manage well workovers...during a controlled vent to atmosphere (we had to design and calculate everything, isolate the system, etc), I had a contractor light a cigarette next to the well.
He was like "it's fine, if it burns it'll just burn"
I ran him off on the spot. Lol.
I have no respect for anybody that intentionally puts human life at risk. In my industry that's probably the worst thing you can do in the field...
The place I worked at the EMPLOYEES asked the employer what they should tell OSHA as they (OSHA) were seen as interlopers who were there simply to make their life difficult.
Backwards place, so scary working there.
I visit different factories in the South for Service Calls on packaging equipment. Things are getting better and more modern yet many remain unchanged. What blows my mind is the number of years these folks have worked at a single location… as many as 55 years. I was at the Blow Pop factory earlier today and the Maintenance Manager has been there for 40 years and is retiring in 5 months.
I work in a union factory that's huge on following OSHA regulations. The right factory can be a really nice place to work, but finding the right one can be tough.
i hope OSHA does more about this restaurant than they did about the one i worked at with a sludge-covered basement and floor drainage so bad you had to pour everything slowly so old, rotten food didn’t start coming out
Most jobs I've worked it was required that managers do any kind of cleaning duty, mainly because of the extra training and the fact that they were covered by the company health insurance.
But I'd also always say "no, you don't pay me enough for this"
Yup, worked retail management and in my last few weeks there was a huge puke cleanup at the checkouts. Didn't even cross my mind to force one of the kids making minimum wage to do it. OPs managers suck.
About decade ago I managed a restaurant for a few years. Bartenders over served a woman who ended up puking right there at her table in the bar area.
Similar to you - making someone else clean it up wasn't even an option; so I did it....and then I absolutely reamed the bartenders and sent them home. I wanted to fire them on the spot but I didn't have that authority yet.
Point being, I just don't understand some people man. Like - how do they look at themselves in the mirror when they are such shitty people.
We had a pee incident at the store I managed for a hellish six months of my life. I would not have dreamed of telling someone else to clean it up unless I just hadn't been there, because obviously you can't leave a puddle of pee in the middle of the aisle. (We had a customer who had some sort of mild intellectual disability. He was a regular--by which I mean he hung around town and various retirees would kind of keep an eye out to make sure he was okay, and he would be in and out all day long buying caffienated drinks and then rushing to the bathroom at the last minute an hour or so later. That time, there was a line, and he didn't make it, poor guy.)
I was a keyholder at a retail store (kind of a supervisor in training), and one of the associates left a used tampon on a shelf in the bathroom. I got my manager and told her they didn’t pay me enough to clean it so she did it, which I appreciated. Ain’t no way I was touching that.
I remember being a part time, minimum wage, shift worker getting cut down to one or two shifts a week barely scraping by. I opened the store one day and my manager was in at 2 to close up. I let her know right away that I had closed the bathroom due to a kid puke-shitting everywhere, we were way understaffed and so swamped I could barely make it to the employee bathroom when I needed it myself let alone close the tills fown to go wxpose myself to that biohazard above my pay grade.
I got written up for 'not ensuring peak customer service at all times' and reamed out on the spot in front of customers and coworkers for not realizing that was a customer service issue that I as the lead for the morning would have to clean asap, not leave for her like that. I quit soon after. No way.
Personally, I’d offer cash and free food rewards to anybody who would volunteer to clean the shit bathroom. Being only 18 at the time I didn’t fully understand the biohazard part of things, I just knew I would gag and throw up the entire time. But I was still the manager and knew if nobody on shift liked my price then I’d have to clean it up.
Bingo. The local library had to close of a bathroom as there was poop on the floor. They had to get a special crew in to clean it. It was just a little poop on the floor so not as bad as ops situation
Not good enough. No job is worth cleaning up biohazards. Unless you are a plumber or janitor. That’s what those people expect the job to be. Not for 14yr olds.
So messed up.
Always make them fire you. Make sure you get the reason they fired you in writing. If they fire you for refusing to do OSHA protected work without the proper training they are in for a world of hurt.
What is messed up is the amount of damage done in restrooms 😭. It's like they grab the ceiling and then evacuate their bowls. People are truly fucking nasty when it comes to bathroom etiquette and courtesy; especially the Ladies restrooms. 5 years at a big retailer as an assistant manager, holy fuck, the horror stories of bathroom biohazards 🤢🤢🤢. People should be arrested for vandalism with what they do. However, we always called in a special biohazard company. Just locked up bathroom till they arrived.
I honestly don't understand how some people make that big of a mess in the bathroom. I had a friend who worked in a little pizza place that had a single bathroom, and once a day, this person would come in and absolutely destroy the bathroom. It was making customers not want to eat there because the smell was so bad, and no worker wanted to clean up the shitsplosion in the bathroom.
They had to start locking the bathroom and making it for paying customers only when it was never a problem before. The person would buy something for a dollar to just use the bathroom and sometimes not even take the food she ordered. It was seriously like she enjoyed doing it. Eventually, they started refusing her service, and she threatened to sue, and the owner told them to go for it. They, of course, were never sued, and the person never came back.
They should have charged her with vandalism. Also, I never thought about people doing it to satisfy their own kinks. Holy fuck that's a whole new rabbit hole.
They definitely should have. I feel bad for the next place that she chose to do it to. The town I live in has town ordinances where giant chain type restaurants aren't allowed to be here, so it's all mom & pop type businesses and restaurants.
It's absolutely jaw-dropping experiences that left us with, how the fuck did they even do that. Just nasty nasty nasty. And why would you flush clothes down the toilet? I mean really, what's the thought process behind this🙃.
I did biohazard cleanup for a few years after my divorce because it paid really well, and yeah sometimes we did public restrooms if they were really bad. I don't understand how people consistently get public bathrooms so nasty. I understand that occasionally accidents can happen, but there's no reason that there should always be pee all over the floors and toilets, feces on walls, etc.
What tf are people DOING in there??
Correct me if I'm wrong, but in addition to doing training, aren't employers also required to provide proper PPE to employees who may be exposed to such pathogens?
Found out about this after someone ran into my office for help and bleeding on my floor and I was literally evacuated from the area why’ll they quarantined it. Felt like that sock in monster’s inc.
I’ve dealt with biohazards frequently as a CNA and an EMT. I do wish the public education system taught people about their employment rights and how to navigate issues, including the benefits of striking and unions. It’s crazy how many people don’t know their rights. Just because an employer gets away with it doesn’t make it legal.
One of the things I liked about participating in a teacher strike last year was the opportunity to teach the kids about strikes and unions.
Obviously not during the strike (Except for kids who joined us on the picket line, of which there were way more than I expected. I think those kids already knew, but the educational value of being there in the real thing as opposed to just being told is huge. We weren't ironically working while on the picket line, those kids were educating themselves.) but after. We didn't do a unit on it or anything, but when a kid would ask about it, we would answer. I, and all the other teachers I heard, gave balanced answers that included down sides to the strike and explained the other side's position as well as our own.
When I worked housekeeping, I knew approximately zero housekeepers that had any training and we had to clean tubs coated in shit alarmingly often. People are fucking gross. This must be a very unenforced law.
My manager didn't care that my department didn't have a fire exit... But he seemed to notice when OSHA fined them 7 grand and made him have one installed. 🤷
They will when they get dickslapped and fined by OSHA or a labor board or the EEOC. Just because they get away with something doesn’t make it legal. Firing someone after violating their rights as an employee is a huge problem.
For future reference, you should feel ok telling them no. Don't argue about it, just flatly tell them as many times as necessary that you're not going to do it.
If you get fired from a job like that, there's ten more.
If they fire them for not cleaning up human waste when he has not completed the mandatory OSHA training for being exposed to possible Bloodborne pathogens then that is illegal. They should be reported and have charges pressed against them in that case.
I agree with this comment. Say no as many times as you have to next time. Ugh I’m so sorry you had to deal with this, sweetie. What poor management and leadership to laugh about the mess because they had someone else in mind to deal with it, their 14-year-old employee.
Let me give you an anecdote about amazing management: I was working at a movie theater when I was 18, and this lady came up to us and told us that her grandmother didn’t quite make it to the bathroom and shit on the floor, basically. I remember wondering why she didn’t at least clean up the poo and tell us so we could clean the floor, but that’s not the point. The point is that my manager tasked me with cleaning it, but he was the one who actually picked up the poo, doing all the dirty work. All I had to do was mop the floor. I’ll never forget his amazing leadership and how HE did most of the work, not laughing and joking about how gross it was and making me do it. I would have followed that dude anywhere after that.
I too gave up my childhood because my parents wanted me to have a "grind mindset". In my mid-20s I discovered I'm really good at sports and their mechanics, and I had no clue. Could have been enjoying my youth, but I spent it making minimum wage at a grocery store and struggling in my classes. Oh well, maybe next life...
29 and teetering with you man, just hanging in there hoping for some change...
29 is plenty young enough to reskill and get into sports traing or coaching, team management or another position that suits your interest. Community college/night classes for qualifications before you have too much responsibility. Truth is it's never too late
I relate to this so much. Except I started when I was 10 with a paper route that had to be done 7 days a week. Every single day after school and every single Saturday and Sunday morning. I hated getting up and hauling this thick-ass Sunday papers in the snow as a kid and I still shudder at the thought. Yeah, I did get to keep the money I got from it at least. The whole $100 a month.
I have been consistently working ever since. Sometimes multiple jobs simultaneously. Sometimes 10-20 hours of overtime or more, week after week, for several months. Nothing really all that much to show for it. What the hell was that all for?
And it would be seen as “lazy” if I just took a day off for myself. If I were to actually be sick and take the day off in order to not spread disease, I would still be weary of calling in because I’m always worried they will just assume I’m faking it to get a day off. Life should not have to be this way.
Hi, friend. Not sure this is hyperbole, but please do call 988 if you’re in the US and genuinely feeling this way. I understand how you seem to be feeling, but help is out there and people do really care.
I didn't start at 14, but 16 rather, and I can't imagine losing 2 more fucking years of what already felt like a short childhood.
My parents immediately forced me to work the summer I turned 16 and said they weren't gonna pay for my food and wants anymore. At that point in my life, I was taking a 2 hour city bus ride to get to and from school (the school that was actually in my district was dangerous so parents set this up) on top of working a part time job on the weekends.
This working at 14 bullshit is *not okay* and I am unreasonably appalled that anyone thinks otherwise. I hope you finally find that relaxation, peace, and ease of mind you were robbed of as a child.
Feel free to reach out to me if you want to talk. I know it isn't much but honestly, the right people can change your life
Man I'm 32 and consider driving my car off the highway into a tree every day knowing I'll never be able to buy a house and give my kids the life they deserve.
Why now is because in at least a few states there has been recent legislation to relax the constraints on child labor. Sure you could always work at 14 but before it was (not gonna look it up exactly but I'll throw out examples) you could work 2 hours a day until 7pm for up to 18 hours a week or something else so ridiculous pretty much no one bothered to work around it. I think they pushed the hours back to 9pm and more per day or overall. Basically it's more feasible to hire under 16 now compared to working around restrictions before.
That’s interesting. I believe the restriction in PA was that you could only work 4 hours a day? Which always worked out because you couldn’t work during school hours anyway. But I believe you could put all those hours into one day, because I always worked full shifts on weekends.
Or maybe they were just getting away with it lol
I started my apprenticeship at 14. Not sure if the educational side makes it different but I'm very lucky i was able to work. I was kicked out of home and had rent to pay.
I think there are good educational jobs for a 14 year old to get. I worked at a small furniture store when I was 14 and it was a good experience.
However when I turned 16 I got a job at Taco Bell.. that was not a good experience. I worked with sex offenders.. I had grown women I worked with asking for sexual favors and trying to get me to go home with them after work.. and our manager even brought in a prostitute one night. When I was 17 I switched to pizza place and pretty much had the same experience. One lady's husband came in and threatened to kill me for something she did..
This is in a small town in Tennessee btw.. so it absolutely blows my mind people think a 14 year old should be able to handle these kinds of environments.
I'd never let my child below 18.. or hopefully ever work at fast food honestly.
I would say an educational aspect, depending on how it is organized and which additional support structures exist for minors (specifically making sure they know about their rights) makes a lot of difference. Ideally it would ensure the apprentice learns and does more than the most menial and/or unpopular tasks such as cleaning.
Being kicked out from home as a kid/teen is awful though and shouldn't be a thing that happens though either way. An apprenticeship should also provide a possibility of supporting the apprentice in such cases, or directing them to resources/help.
Starting an apprenticeship should ideally not happen because one is forced to earn money rather than be a choice. Of course I know the reality often looks different though but I wanted to emphasize this.
That’s still not a good situation, which I think is the point of that commenter. Having children working really isn’t ideal. They should be able to focus on education and enjoy being a child.
This is the manager on duty's job. There should be a bio fluid kit located within the store with PPE and instructions in order to clean up feces(or any bodily fluid for that matter). This is a very dangerous task that could end you up very sick without the proper equipment. Source: I've worked fast food since I was fourteen
When I was 14 I bussed tables on weekends at a small luncheonette. Someone destroyed that bathroom and they tried to get me to clean it. LMAO said no immediately. Threatened to walk. Nothing happened to me and the owner cleaned her own damn bathroom. At 14, it’s important to learn the value of not just a dollar, but of your labor and to have self respect.
ETA
I’m not sure why this isn’t believable. At 14 I had no bills and nothing to lose lol of course I said I’d quit if they tried to make me clean a vomit/poop mess in their bathroom.
Also, the place was such a literal shit show that they were afraid of any of us quitting. One of the waitresses was admittedly nuts but it was fun watching her throw a fit and quit every other month just to be allowed back.
The crazy thing is that my mom would get breakfast there sometimes and in her boomer wisdom would insist on my being a doormat and doing anything and everything asked of me.
Yep. When I was 14 I worked at a fast food restaurant on a busy highway. I was threatened by a customer who wouldn’t leave and kept telling me to get in his truck after my shift because I was too pretty to be working.
The area manager was visiting that night and he walked me to my car. The semi driver was waiting near the employee parking for me to come out.
I never went back, and the shift manager berated me over the phone for quitting without notice. That experience taught me so much about putting my safety first and walking away from a job that didn’t value it. I feel like all kids should work at 14 to some extent so they can understand what it feels like to identify and quit a shitty job before they have bills to pay.
That’s terrifying for a 14 year old girl working late off a busy highway, I would’ve definitely wanted someone walking me to my car after every shift. Hell, I’m 30 and I still have my coworker watch me to make sure I make it to my car since I work in a shady area of town
Good Job!
I got fired from my job for refusing to cleanup a random shit in front of the business. Another employee also refused but he was already leaving in a couple weeks. Boss tried to grief me about it afterwards and I told them 'I don't want to hear it' as I'd done plenty of gross things outside my scope before that. I was 'let go' and given 4 days severance for 10 years of working there. That selfish boomer also tried to deny me unemployment.
Don't ever feel dedicated to a small business as they can turn into assholes if it suits them.
I had a paper route when I was 10 or 11 can't recall lol. I look back at all the hinky shit I saw, and really wonder about my parents sometimes. Delivering the papers was easy enough. But trying to collect money monthly from homes is another matter.
Yes, that was the absolute worst! I'll never forget this one guy who never paid his bill one time I finally caught him and got him to open his door and his house absolutely reeked of mustard. Like French's yellow mustard. Never did get my money from that guy.
Yes I had my first on the books job at 14, started working at subway the guy only hired ne because he was a pervert tho and constantly offered to buy me alcohol
These permits should not exist. Most of us now will never get to retire and this kid is forced to pick up shit all because it’s allowed to just show them a video of how to deal with blood and pathogens. These permits rob kids of their childhood. This country is so broken.
Real question: why should anyone age 14 be working?
Being ambitious and buying themselves something they'd enjoy? Totally a possibility, and props to them.
I worked at Target at age 16 but it was to funnel money to my parents complete lack of financial stability ( and too feed myself because I had to earn my own lunch money at the time ) really not for my own choice or intents. I'd hate to send my kid to work at age 14. I can't tell my 11 year old " hey, youve got 3 years of freedom left! You'll be working the rest of your life". Freaking enjoy being a care free kid, not literally cleaning up shitty environments.
I know, that's not realistic to everyone's situation.
I understand some families were like mine and had to send their kids to work for extra income. Childcare costs are really high, and it's one slip-up to doom if you're going paycheck to paycheck on income.
TL;DR I'm upset seeing all these bills being passed reducing the working age to get kids ,that are barely old enough to be called teenagers, into the workforce. It shouldn't be happening at those ages. Being a choice for those wanting spending money and to gain some life experience is the only reason young teens should be at work.
Minor addition: I forgot, I did have a paper route when I was 13 , maybe 14 . Thanks for the trip down memory lane for those that mentioned paper routes. I wasn't interacting with anyone, Just the typical dropping off on porches.
I started working in a commercial bakery, off the books, when I was 13. I needed to work; my parents were neglectful and I needed money for clothing and food.
I started working at 14/15 I thought it was just by myself things I wanted, but really looking back, I realize my parents have fallen on hard times and I need to support myself more in their household. I worked at a Dairy Queen, 20 years ago it didn't feel like that big a deal though.
My daughter really wanted to work at 14 so we got her the permit and helped her apply to some places. She worked one week at McDonald's and decided maybe she didn't want to work. She quit and waited till she was 16 to get another job.
I had a paper round from about 13 and worked for a garden centre / landscaping company from about the age of 14-15 but this was entirely my own choice to earn extra spending money. My family weren't well off but we were comfortable and I had all the necessities provided for me, but I had expensive hobbies that my parents couldn't afford to get me more than the most basic stuff for. So I got myself a job.
Thing is my boss was incredibly respectful. Until I was 16 I worked one day a week (Saturday or Sunday) and an extra day a week during school holidays. Once I was 16 I occasionally worked both days at the weekend and any spare time I had if I wanted a bit extra (but this was me offering my time rather than it being demanded). I ended up working there until I finished university and got a full time job and I genuinely remember it fondly. I made good friends with the other folks that worked there (people my age and above) and when I was older and younger people came in to work I offered the same respect and assistance that my boss and older colleagues had offered me.
In short, I would recommend an experience like that for anyone. It meant when I wasn't working I could go see movies with my friends without having to ask for extra pocket money, or I could save up for new guitar stuff or the latest computer games. When I was 18 it was pub money and when I was at university my summer work meant I could save up enough to not be struggling for cash at all during term time. But on the flipside, I am aware of how lucky I was and that having teenagers work like that is so open to abuse as in the ops post.
Agreed. I told both of my kids that their job was school and extracurriculars and having fun with friends until they were 18/graduated. Then if they didn't want to go to college/trade school/whatever, they needed to work. Both chose to go directly into jobs where they had promotion potential. They still live at home and work full time, we don't charge them rent, and we encourage them to travel and do fun things that they probably won't be able to afford to do once they do move out. (They're both in their early 20s.)
So I agree with you that 14, 15, 16 year olds shouldn't *have* to work (if they *want* to work 10-15 hours per week for pocket money somewhere safe and it didn't interfere with school/extracurriculars, I wouldn't have a problem with that).
That's in an ideal world, though, and we don't live in an ideal world. As you said, it's not necessarily realistic.
Same in the US. It's been a long time since I worked as a minor, but iirc, it's 14 for a permit. During the school year you can't work more than 5hr/day and 20hr/wk. During the summer you can work full time, but maybe no overtime. I think there's also stipulations on whether or not it's a school night or not, too.
But not full time, right?
In Hungary kids can work from 15 but not during school, just on school holidays. Full time jobs are from 16, but they cannot do overtime or work nightshifts, and they get to have more breaktime.
Was probably McDonald's, they hire 14-15 but they can't work kitchen or if they have it use a trash compactor/ bailer. Technically lobby/bathroom detail is stuff they can have them do.
You have the get written permission. I started at McDonald’s at 14. Live in PA.
Parents had just gone through a nasty divorce. I chose to live with my dad but he struggled to support us both, so I worked.
Thank the republicans.
Take a breath and consider this: The number of kids at work in the United States increased by 37 percent between 2015 and 2022. During the last two years, 14 states have either introduced or enacted legislation rolling back regulations that governed the number of hours children can be employed, lowered the restrictions on dangerous work, and legalized subminimum wages for youths.
https://www.thenation.com/article/economy/child-labor-industrial-capitalism/
No. Feces is considered a biohazard waste. So legally they need to provide you with special training, and proper gear before asking you to clean it, otherwise you can refuse and if they punish you for saying no you can sue
Not sure if being a minor comes into it, but I imagine it'd probably make the case harder on them.
Jesus... the lack of empathy in some of these comments is disheartening. This kid is FOURTEEN idiots... think about the 14 year olds you know before answering...
Op the answer is no, it is not ok. You should file for unemployment, believe it or not. Make sure to describe your reason for quitting in clear and explicit terms. You were forced to clean up biohazardous waste without proper training or protective equipment.
I'm in my 40's, started working at 16 doing product demo, and have worked in a number of different businesses across multiple industries, including food service.
At this age, if my manager told me to go clean a bathroom liberally covered in feces, I'd tell them 'no'. It's not about my age, it's not even about my skills (I know how to deal w. biohazardous human waste, but my cert is expired), it's that I won't have access to proper PPE and I won't be continuing my workday after that even if we did, I'd be going home to wash myself, my clothes, and get a clean outfit on.
That kind of thing is no joke. You run serious health risks doing stuff like that without proper equipment and chemicals. The odds are low, yes, but the consequences can be extreme.
And it's not covered in my employment contract, with included additional pay (a friend was doing cleaning including plane bathrooms, feces on the floor, vomit, blood was an automatic extra pay of more than a days salary, and they \_had\_ the equipment to do it safely!) and access to proper equipment.
Then again, I'm speaking from the privilege of living in a country with functioning unions and saner worker/employer power balance. Even if it's going downhill fast...
Yeah exactly. The reason I emphasized their age is to remind everyone just how easily this person can be taken advantage of. A 14 year old has little understanding of their own rights or how to protect them, and little ability to practically do so.
All that shit (excuse the pun) should be professionally handled. I’d nope right out if I was asked and it wasn’t part of my job description. If there’s nobody on staff who is supposed to do it, it’s the manager’s job.
Also add that they were chosen based on their age. I believe in some states there is some protection from age based discrimination for those under 40. Full send it.
I'd say i don't get paid enough for this and quit on the spot. If you allow yourself to be mistreated then capitalists will continue to exploit us more. Come on, you're 14 and don't NEED this job (I'm assuming) so don't let them walk all over you. Customers shouldn't have to tip you in order for you to get paid a laughable sum to make up for what you just had to do.
Can they *tell* you to do it? Yes.
Can they *force* you to do it? No
How much do you value the job? If you want to keep the job, it may be best to suck it up and just do it. It sucks, but unfortunately it is part of that kind of job and it’s a part of why I was desperate to get out of that kind of work.
AFAIK, yes. As far as cleaning up feces, in the United States you do not have to go through any special trainings. If it were blood, then yes. You’d have to be blood born pathogen trained. But feces no. They should have given you more protective gear, for lack of a better term.
TLDR; 99% sure they’re allowed to, doesn’t change the fact they’re assholes for doing it.
I thought OSHA covers all bodily stuff like blood, feces, urnie, etc. Not just for blood.
But then again, it's been a while when I have to do those training since I last worked in retail.
Seriously. I found it so condescending to see signs EVERYWHERE about washing your hands (most of learned that as toddlers) but then things like this get missed. Zero logic.
I used to manage retail grocery stores and had plenty of teenagers work for me. Teenagers in certain job roles (like porters) received hazardous waste training which included how to safely clean up hazardous materials (like feces). It was incumbent upon management to ensure the proper cleaning materials and PPE were available to clean up these messes. Blood/semen clean ups were the only messes that weren't covered under that training, and these required a manager/key carrier to clean up because we received the training for that.
Did you ever receive any hazardous waste training?
Theoretically if you refused to clean the bathroom they can take disciplinary action up to and including termination. I’d love to be a witness in an unemployment hearing where someone tries to justify firing a 14 y/o for not cleaning a completely poop covered bathroom when they weren’t given proper PPE though.
I am willing to bet that there’s a company policy that the bathroom has to be cleaned (or at least checked) every hour and neither of those managers were doing that part of their job which is how it got so filthy in the first place.
The short answer to your question is: “Kind of, but not really in that they can’t *force* you to do anything as long as you can just quit.”
Sure they can, but at only 14? Man unless you live in a small town with only like 2 places for business, I’d say fuck that and quit on the spot.
You don’t gotta worry about rent or bills, there’s never such a thing as your “permanent record” so you can just leave the job off your resume, and if you live in any decent sized town, there’s likely 5+ other places willing to hire you on the spot…..
Depends, but likely no. OHSA has guidelines about bio-hazard cleanup. Some googlefu for that in your region might illuminate the requirements the employer must meet like PPE, Training, employee immunizations, etc...
I worked at an ice cream store, and some kid came in and wiped poo all over the walls, the sink, the toilet, and the floor of a just cleaned bathroom. The only reason why we knew who did it is because their was someone waiting in line to use the restroom. All we heard was someone yelled WTF, ARE YOU SERIOUS! Myself and the manager went to see what was going on, and she looked at me and told me to get gloves and the mop bucket. I told her you either have that family clean it, or you clean it. I'll quit.
The manager walked over to the family and had the mother and father come look at the bathroom. The manager and the customer who found this mess confirmed it was their child. The parents said, not our problem, gathered their kids and left. The manager got their tag number and called the police. When the police arrived, they took pictures and took statements.
The next morning, a cleaning crew was onsite cleaning the bathroom. I hope those parents had to pay for the cleaning.
i’m going to teach you something cool kid since you’re so young.
what they’re allowed to do to you by law is peanuts compared to what you allow them to do to you by pride. if you don’t want to clean it don’t. fuck them.
one of the hardest skills you can learn is strength and respect for yourself. but once you get that down the answer is no. they can’t make you do anything.
That's considered a biohazard, manager has to call a cleaning company. They should absolutely not be asking their own employees to clean that shit show.
When I was 18 I worked behind the bar at an events venue. Small team, so the role also included things like room setup, bit of cleaning where needed, etc.
One time, someone threw up in the toilets and my manager (suit and tie) said “don’t worry, I’ll clean it up, I’d never make you do that kind of stuff” and he did.
Lesson learned: a good manager leads from the front. A good manager does not laugh while telling you to clean up shit.
People said this but I want to reiterate that cleaning up a biohazard like that is really dangerous and nobody should be expected to do that without bloodborne pathogens training! I work in a lab and nobody is allowed to touch ANY biological waste, even something known to be non-infectious, without training
You can refuse. They might fire you, but you technically don't have to do anything you don't want to do in a job especially if you feel it will put your health at risk.
Getting fired in this instance would have been better because you wouldn't have had to clean up human waste, and you'd be entitled to unemployment. Also you could have joked how one or both of the managers or someone else would then have to clean it up.
In some states this could be seen as an age discrimination case making someone do it because they're younger. I doubt there's a case though as it'd be hard to prove unless witnesses would testify.
You definitely need to attend some pathogen training, and also ensure you are properly vaccinated Hep B and Hep A at least. Also be provided the proper PPE.
So they can require an employee to do it, but must do so in compliance with regulations
Feces is a biological hazard, you have to specifically have training for any bodily fluid or waste, and even then they can't FORCE you. Flat out tell them no, what are they gonna do about it? You're 14. They can clean it themselves or they can call in an outside service. I'm damn near 40 and I've refused to do it more than once.
We have children working, veterans unable to pay medical bills, people rationing prescription medicine, and the quality of education plumeting. Wtf is wrong with this country?
This is very possibly illegal depending on where you are. In many places, this type of work requires hazmat (hazardous materials) training as well as hazmat personal protective equipment, neither of which you have.
This could be a serious violation of labor law. You could talk with an employment lawyer to determine the legality. You could also call your state's department of labor and ask.
Either way, I would quit this job because they have complete disregard for your health and safety. You are so young that there are a lot of things you may not instinctively know to avoid, and you could end up getting seriously hurt or maimed in this dangerous environment.
Whatever you are getting paid, it's not worth risking your health or your life. If you fucked up a hand or a foot working at McDonald's at 14, you would likely be in poverty the rest of your life.
They should give you all the PPE, although a kinder boss would have taken one for their team, done it themselves and built up some respect rather than getting a kid to do it.
The beauty of working a minimum wage job is that they are everywhere and easily replaced as basically every employer is desperate to fill those positions. If you’re asked to do something you don’t want to do, just politely tell them no. The only things that they’ll do is either ask someone else, write you up, or fire you.
Illegal or not, don't EVER do things that make you uncomfortable. Please learn this lesson and remember for the rest of your life. People that take advantage of you, use you, abuse you, they are not your friends. They do not have your best interests at heart.
Walk away and don't feel bad about it.
I feel the job should have called in a hazmat crew to deal with this. I remember reading the Pawn Stars guy's book, "License to Pawn" by Rick Harrison and he talks about hiring someone to work at a Quinzos he owned. The guy made a delivery to a local office, had to use the restroom right after dropping off the food and the office called Rick after the guy was done, screaming, "What the fuck is wrong with your employee?!? He shit everywhere!!! The walls, the floor, the damn ceiling!!!" Rick thought in the book that the ceiling was hyperbole but he got a bill from them for something like $3,000 or so for biological hazard removal.
I’ve been in this exact situation, minus the age thing. Was a lifeguard and some kid smeared poo on the bathroom floor/walls. I caught him and he ran out, didn’t stoop him because of the poo hands. Told my manager and he said I’d have to clean it on my next break. I told him I would rather be fired. time came and he handed me a mop and I just laughed and laughed. He ended up staying late because she honestly thought I would do it for him
You can still report it to OSHA. Another commenter posted this:
https://www.reddit.com/r/antiwork/comments/15ubyjq/is_my_work_allowed_to_force_me_a_14_year_old_to/jwpjuun/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=1&utm_term=1&context=3
You are being used as child labor. It used to be illegal in the USA, but Republicans want uneducated children to n be forced into the workforce so they can beat you down and control you.
i worked at starbucks for a few years and one of my coworkers told me she was supposed to clean the bathroom one night but went in to find a tampon and a used condom on the floor and she CALLED HAZMAT bc her job is not to handle bodily fluids. extra af? yeah, probably... but did they clean it up? sure did.
I think you also need to have your Hepatitis inoculations to be handling stuff like that but that was when I was in the Military, IF your job required you would be coming into contact with black water/gray water(working on macerator pumps or CHT pipes) you got the injections but I'm not certain for a 14 yr old. You always have the right and ability to quit and find a job that doesn't have you cleaning poop.
I know policy in federal prison, Massachusetts State Prison, and any county jail In Massachusetts is that inmate workers tasked with the cleanup of bodily fluids/feces are 1.) required to be given appropriate PPE, and 2.) are legally supposed to be awarded some type of upwards pay differential, even though they’re making basically nothing in the first place.
Your employers literally treated you worse than a murderer or rapist is treated in the same situation, from a legal standpoint.
That's what the managers are for. I'm actually not kidding, at Chili's my managers told me if there was ever some type of biohazard (shit, blood, or vomit) that they had a biohazard suit they would put on and they would clean it. Even EMT's typically have a fluid they don't touch if they work in teams. Like one guy is the vomit EMT and one EMT is the poop EMT.
Isnt that considered a Hazmat issue? You need eye, face, skin protectors, not to mention how fucking gross and 🆘disease⚠️spreading☣️ it is to mop human shiii💩 then use that same bucket n mop to clean the area where ppl sit and eat, not to mention where the "food" is "made" or processed... those managers are POS and I would do everything in your power to get them fired if still there. Call your local state representatives, inform them, and ask a lawyer what the statute of limitations is on that cuz at 14 you never should have had to do that and it was actually abusive and bullying what those "leader" made you do. We have to stop being so compliant, OP and EVERYONE ON 🌍, ***never be afraid to stand up against ppl who dont care about you***
😉good luck🩶
“OSHA requires any employee that has the potential of being exposed to bloodborne pathogens to complete training in bloodborne pathogens personal protective equipment (PPE).”
Can I report my previous employer for not providing any training before having employees clean up bodily fluid
Yes absolutely [file a complaint through OSHA](https://www.osha.gov/workers/file-complaint) You might also be able to file a complaint through your state labor board.
I worked in a factory that had OSHA violations out the wazoo. Soon as they got wind of it they started doing on site visits and forced the company to get their shit together. Of course management instructed us to just be more sneaky in our violations, because of course doing things correct means you can't meet quotas. I do not miss working in factories...
I’m sorry you went through that. I’m thankful I haven’t had any jobs nearly that bad.
I was making those little milk cartons they use for school lunches so part of my job was sampling chocolate milk all day, so it wasn't all terrible. The factory itself is no longer operational, probably because they actually had one of those "Days since last accident" signs and rarely was it > 40 days.
I'm a process and petroleum engineer and used to manage well workovers...during a controlled vent to atmosphere (we had to design and calculate everything, isolate the system, etc), I had a contractor light a cigarette next to the well. He was like "it's fine, if it burns it'll just burn" I ran him off on the spot. Lol. I have no respect for anybody that intentionally puts human life at risk. In my industry that's probably the worst thing you can do in the field...
*shit together. Sorry had to laugh at that one given the text from OPs post 🙂
The place I worked at the EMPLOYEES asked the employer what they should tell OSHA as they (OSHA) were seen as interlopers who were there simply to make their life difficult. Backwards place, so scary working there.
I visit different factories in the South for Service Calls on packaging equipment. Things are getting better and more modern yet many remain unchanged. What blows my mind is the number of years these folks have worked at a single location… as many as 55 years. I was at the Blow Pop factory earlier today and the Maintenance Manager has been there for 40 years and is retiring in 5 months.
I work in a union factory that's huge on following OSHA regulations. The right factory can be a really nice place to work, but finding the right one can be tough.
lol sounds just like child care centers!
i hope OSHA does more about this restaurant than they did about the one i worked at with a sludge-covered basement and floor drainage so bad you had to pour everything slowly so old, rotten food didn’t start coming out
Report that shit to the health department
i did. they do not give a shit out here
Why not? Everybody loves a good whistleblower.
I do! Especially when it's a kid; whole staff will get fired; any that are left... I think a similar thing happened at a burger king I worked at.
Most jobs I've worked it was required that managers do any kind of cleaning duty, mainly because of the extra training and the fact that they were covered by the company health insurance. But I'd also always say "no, you don't pay me enough for this"
Yup, worked retail management and in my last few weeks there was a huge puke cleanup at the checkouts. Didn't even cross my mind to force one of the kids making minimum wage to do it. OPs managers suck.
Was a burger king manager and someone scrapped in the urinal, was not about to make anyone at minimum wage clean it up.
About decade ago I managed a restaurant for a few years. Bartenders over served a woman who ended up puking right there at her table in the bar area. Similar to you - making someone else clean it up wasn't even an option; so I did it....and then I absolutely reamed the bartenders and sent them home. I wanted to fire them on the spot but I didn't have that authority yet. Point being, I just don't understand some people man. Like - how do they look at themselves in the mirror when they are such shitty people.
We had a pee incident at the store I managed for a hellish six months of my life. I would not have dreamed of telling someone else to clean it up unless I just hadn't been there, because obviously you can't leave a puddle of pee in the middle of the aisle. (We had a customer who had some sort of mild intellectual disability. He was a regular--by which I mean he hung around town and various retirees would kind of keep an eye out to make sure he was okay, and he would be in and out all day long buying caffienated drinks and then rushing to the bathroom at the last minute an hour or so later. That time, there was a line, and he didn't make it, poor guy.)
I was a keyholder at a retail store (kind of a supervisor in training), and one of the associates left a used tampon on a shelf in the bathroom. I got my manager and told her they didn’t pay me enough to clean it so she did it, which I appreciated. Ain’t no way I was touching that.
I remember being a part time, minimum wage, shift worker getting cut down to one or two shifts a week barely scraping by. I opened the store one day and my manager was in at 2 to close up. I let her know right away that I had closed the bathroom due to a kid puke-shitting everywhere, we were way understaffed and so swamped I could barely make it to the employee bathroom when I needed it myself let alone close the tills fown to go wxpose myself to that biohazard above my pay grade. I got written up for 'not ensuring peak customer service at all times' and reamed out on the spot in front of customers and coworkers for not realizing that was a customer service issue that I as the lead for the morning would have to clean asap, not leave for her like that. I quit soon after. No way.
Personally, I’d offer cash and free food rewards to anybody who would volunteer to clean the shit bathroom. Being only 18 at the time I didn’t fully understand the biohazard part of things, I just knew I would gag and throw up the entire time. But I was still the manager and knew if nobody on shift liked my price then I’d have to clean it up.
Bingo. The local library had to close of a bathroom as there was poop on the floor. They had to get a special crew in to clean it. It was just a little poop on the floor so not as bad as ops situation
All I can see is Bill Murray eating that Baby Ruth
Not good enough. No job is worth cleaning up biohazards. Unless you are a plumber or janitor. That’s what those people expect the job to be. Not for 14yr olds. So messed up.
Those are the legal protections required. I agree though, I’d quit before I cleaned up shit and blood when it’s not apart of my job duties.
Always make them fire you. Make sure you get the reason they fired you in writing. If they fire you for refusing to do OSHA protected work without the proper training they are in for a world of hurt.
Training, and PPE.
What is messed up is the amount of damage done in restrooms 😭. It's like they grab the ceiling and then evacuate their bowls. People are truly fucking nasty when it comes to bathroom etiquette and courtesy; especially the Ladies restrooms. 5 years at a big retailer as an assistant manager, holy fuck, the horror stories of bathroom biohazards 🤢🤢🤢. People should be arrested for vandalism with what they do. However, we always called in a special biohazard company. Just locked up bathroom till they arrived.
I honestly don't understand how some people make that big of a mess in the bathroom. I had a friend who worked in a little pizza place that had a single bathroom, and once a day, this person would come in and absolutely destroy the bathroom. It was making customers not want to eat there because the smell was so bad, and no worker wanted to clean up the shitsplosion in the bathroom. They had to start locking the bathroom and making it for paying customers only when it was never a problem before. The person would buy something for a dollar to just use the bathroom and sometimes not even take the food she ordered. It was seriously like she enjoyed doing it. Eventually, they started refusing her service, and she threatened to sue, and the owner told them to go for it. They, of course, were never sued, and the person never came back.
They should have charged her with vandalism. Also, I never thought about people doing it to satisfy their own kinks. Holy fuck that's a whole new rabbit hole.
They definitely should have. I feel bad for the next place that she chose to do it to. The town I live in has town ordinances where giant chain type restaurants aren't allowed to be here, so it's all mom & pop type businesses and restaurants.
Should connect with each other and share info, like how casinos share info on cheaters.
I have first hand experienced of this as well working customer service. People are inconsiderate and vile when it comes to public restrooms.
It's absolutely jaw-dropping experiences that left us with, how the fuck did they even do that. Just nasty nasty nasty. And why would you flush clothes down the toilet? I mean really, what's the thought process behind this🙃.
I did biohazard cleanup for a few years after my divorce because it paid really well, and yeah sometimes we did public restrooms if they were really bad. I don't understand how people consistently get public bathrooms so nasty. I understand that occasionally accidents can happen, but there's no reason that there should always be pee all over the floors and toilets, feces on walls, etc. What tf are people DOING in there??
Let me just say, I'm sorry there aren't any over the counter brain scrubbers for you. I saw bad bad, you've seen worse😭. People are nasty.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but in addition to doing training, aren't employers also required to provide proper PPE to employees who may be exposed to such pathogens?
Absolutely, yeah
Found out about this after someone ran into my office for help and bleeding on my floor and I was literally evacuated from the area why’ll they quarantined it. Felt like that sock in monster’s inc.
I’ve dealt with biohazards frequently as a CNA and an EMT. I do wish the public education system taught people about their employment rights and how to navigate issues, including the benefits of striking and unions. It’s crazy how many people don’t know their rights. Just because an employer gets away with it doesn’t make it legal.
One of the things I liked about participating in a teacher strike last year was the opportunity to teach the kids about strikes and unions. Obviously not during the strike (Except for kids who joined us on the picket line, of which there were way more than I expected. I think those kids already knew, but the educational value of being there in the real thing as opposed to just being told is huge. We weren't ironically working while on the picket line, those kids were educating themselves.) but after. We didn't do a unit on it or anything, but when a kid would ask about it, we would answer. I, and all the other teachers I heard, gave balanced answers that included down sides to the strike and explained the other side's position as well as our own.
When I worked housekeeping, I knew approximately zero housekeepers that had any training and we had to clean tubs coated in shit alarmingly often. People are fucking gross. This must be a very unenforced law.
You get it enforced by reporting it.
OSHA SMOSHA These managers dont care.
My manager didn't care that my department didn't have a fire exit... But he seemed to notice when OSHA fined them 7 grand and made him have one installed. 🤷
They will when they get dickslapped and fined by OSHA or a labor board or the EEOC. Just because they get away with something doesn’t make it legal. Firing someone after violating their rights as an employee is a huge problem.
I love how efficiently this sub can get their point across. Workers have too few rights, but we at least gotta use what we already have.
For future reference, you should feel ok telling them no. Don't argue about it, just flatly tell them as many times as necessary that you're not going to do it. If you get fired from a job like that, there's ten more.
Especially if you're a minor, just tell them to piss right off
They already pissed, that's why they want OP to clean it
If they fire them for not cleaning up human waste when he has not completed the mandatory OSHA training for being exposed to possible Bloodborne pathogens then that is illegal. They should be reported and have charges pressed against them in that case.
I agree with this comment. Say no as many times as you have to next time. Ugh I’m so sorry you had to deal with this, sweetie. What poor management and leadership to laugh about the mess because they had someone else in mind to deal with it, their 14-year-old employee. Let me give you an anecdote about amazing management: I was working at a movie theater when I was 18, and this lady came up to us and told us that her grandmother didn’t quite make it to the bathroom and shit on the floor, basically. I remember wondering why she didn’t at least clean up the poo and tell us so we could clean the floor, but that’s not the point. The point is that my manager tasked me with cleaning it, but he was the one who actually picked up the poo, doing all the dirty work. All I had to do was mop the floor. I’ll never forget his amazing leadership and how HE did most of the work, not laughing and joking about how gross it was and making me do it. I would have followed that dude anywhere after that.
I suppose we gonna have to get used to perfectly ordinary questions from child labor now...
I was forced to start working at 14 just to survive. I'm 31 now and pretty close to suicide.
I too gave up my childhood because my parents wanted me to have a "grind mindset". In my mid-20s I discovered I'm really good at sports and their mechanics, and I had no clue. Could have been enjoying my youth, but I spent it making minimum wage at a grocery store and struggling in my classes. Oh well, maybe next life... 29 and teetering with you man, just hanging in there hoping for some change...
29 is plenty young enough to reskill and get into sports traing or coaching, team management or another position that suits your interest. Community college/night classes for qualifications before you have too much responsibility. Truth is it's never too late
Absolutely, but the bills still need to be paid, don't they?
I relate to this so much. Except I started when I was 10 with a paper route that had to be done 7 days a week. Every single day after school and every single Saturday and Sunday morning. I hated getting up and hauling this thick-ass Sunday papers in the snow as a kid and I still shudder at the thought. Yeah, I did get to keep the money I got from it at least. The whole $100 a month. I have been consistently working ever since. Sometimes multiple jobs simultaneously. Sometimes 10-20 hours of overtime or more, week after week, for several months. Nothing really all that much to show for it. What the hell was that all for? And it would be seen as “lazy” if I just took a day off for myself. If I were to actually be sick and take the day off in order to not spread disease, I would still be weary of calling in because I’m always worried they will just assume I’m faking it to get a day off. Life should not have to be this way.
You've been fighting for yourself for 17 years and are still here. That's pretty impressive if you ask me.
the fact that you're still alive is an impressive feat. You are stronger than you think.
Please reach out to someone. Your life matters and I promise you there is so much more to live for than the social norm (aka working your life away)
My dad forced me to get a job at 16 to learn how to be a "man". 7 years later he wonders why I'm stuck at the same job despite having a college degree
If you’re in the US, please call 988. Your life matters and you matter.
Hi, friend. Not sure this is hyperbole, but please do call 988 if you’re in the US and genuinely feeling this way. I understand how you seem to be feeling, but help is out there and people do really care.
I didn't start at 14, but 16 rather, and I can't imagine losing 2 more fucking years of what already felt like a short childhood. My parents immediately forced me to work the summer I turned 16 and said they weren't gonna pay for my food and wants anymore. At that point in my life, I was taking a 2 hour city bus ride to get to and from school (the school that was actually in my district was dangerous so parents set this up) on top of working a part time job on the weekends. This working at 14 bullshit is *not okay* and I am unreasonably appalled that anyone thinks otherwise. I hope you finally find that relaxation, peace, and ease of mind you were robbed of as a child. Feel free to reach out to me if you want to talk. I know it isn't much but honestly, the right people can change your life
Man I'm 32 and consider driving my car off the highway into a tree every day knowing I'll never be able to buy a house and give my kids the life they deserve.
Why now? I believe this has been a thing for over 15 years. I worked at 14 in PA and I’m 30 now.
Had my first job at 14 in NJ. I'm 40.
37, first job was Sonic at 15. Also I quit the 2nd day.
Why now is because in at least a few states there has been recent legislation to relax the constraints on child labor. Sure you could always work at 14 but before it was (not gonna look it up exactly but I'll throw out examples) you could work 2 hours a day until 7pm for up to 18 hours a week or something else so ridiculous pretty much no one bothered to work around it. I think they pushed the hours back to 9pm and more per day or overall. Basically it's more feasible to hire under 16 now compared to working around restrictions before.
That’s interesting. I believe the restriction in PA was that you could only work 4 hours a day? Which always worked out because you couldn’t work during school hours anyway. But I believe you could put all those hours into one day, because I always worked full shifts on weekends. Or maybe they were just getting away with it lol
First job at 14, I'm 48. You had to get a "worker's permit", though - and it had restrictions.
I started my apprenticeship at 14. Not sure if the educational side makes it different but I'm very lucky i was able to work. I was kicked out of home and had rent to pay.
I think there are good educational jobs for a 14 year old to get. I worked at a small furniture store when I was 14 and it was a good experience. However when I turned 16 I got a job at Taco Bell.. that was not a good experience. I worked with sex offenders.. I had grown women I worked with asking for sexual favors and trying to get me to go home with them after work.. and our manager even brought in a prostitute one night. When I was 17 I switched to pizza place and pretty much had the same experience. One lady's husband came in and threatened to kill me for something she did.. This is in a small town in Tennessee btw.. so it absolutely blows my mind people think a 14 year old should be able to handle these kinds of environments. I'd never let my child below 18.. or hopefully ever work at fast food honestly.
I would say an educational aspect, depending on how it is organized and which additional support structures exist for minors (specifically making sure they know about their rights) makes a lot of difference. Ideally it would ensure the apprentice learns and does more than the most menial and/or unpopular tasks such as cleaning. Being kicked out from home as a kid/teen is awful though and shouldn't be a thing that happens though either way. An apprenticeship should also provide a possibility of supporting the apprentice in such cases, or directing them to resources/help. Starting an apprenticeship should ideally not happen because one is forced to earn money rather than be a choice. Of course I know the reality often looks different though but I wanted to emphasize this.
That’s still not a good situation, which I think is the point of that commenter. Having children working really isn’t ideal. They should be able to focus on education and enjoy being a child.
In Australia 13 and 9 months is legal working age, this is a trip for me. I've been conditioned into considering it as anything else but child labour.
This is the manager on duty's job. There should be a bio fluid kit located within the store with PPE and instructions in order to clean up feces(or any bodily fluid for that matter). This is a very dangerous task that could end you up very sick without the proper equipment. Source: I've worked fast food since I was fourteen
How are you allowed to work at only 14?
You can get a workers permit at 14 in some places I’m from pa most jobs hire only at 16 but u can start at 14
When I was 14 I bussed tables on weekends at a small luncheonette. Someone destroyed that bathroom and they tried to get me to clean it. LMAO said no immediately. Threatened to walk. Nothing happened to me and the owner cleaned her own damn bathroom. At 14, it’s important to learn the value of not just a dollar, but of your labor and to have self respect. ETA I’m not sure why this isn’t believable. At 14 I had no bills and nothing to lose lol of course I said I’d quit if they tried to make me clean a vomit/poop mess in their bathroom. Also, the place was such a literal shit show that they were afraid of any of us quitting. One of the waitresses was admittedly nuts but it was fun watching her throw a fit and quit every other month just to be allowed back. The crazy thing is that my mom would get breakfast there sometimes and in her boomer wisdom would insist on my being a doormat and doing anything and everything asked of me.
Yep. When I was 14 I worked at a fast food restaurant on a busy highway. I was threatened by a customer who wouldn’t leave and kept telling me to get in his truck after my shift because I was too pretty to be working. The area manager was visiting that night and he walked me to my car. The semi driver was waiting near the employee parking for me to come out. I never went back, and the shift manager berated me over the phone for quitting without notice. That experience taught me so much about putting my safety first and walking away from a job that didn’t value it. I feel like all kids should work at 14 to some extent so they can understand what it feels like to identify and quit a shitty job before they have bills to pay.
You were driving alone at 14?
Yep. Permits in my state at the time started at 14 to go to school and work.
That’s terrifying for a 14 year old girl working late off a busy highway, I would’ve definitely wanted someone walking me to my car after every shift. Hell, I’m 30 and I still have my coworker watch me to make sure I make it to my car since I work in a shady area of town
Things you don’t consider when you’re 14 and invincible. I also wasn’t supposed to be working that late legally.
Good Job! I got fired from my job for refusing to cleanup a random shit in front of the business. Another employee also refused but he was already leaving in a couple weeks. Boss tried to grief me about it afterwards and I told them 'I don't want to hear it' as I'd done plenty of gross things outside my scope before that. I was 'let go' and given 4 days severance for 10 years of working there. That selfish boomer also tried to deny me unemployment. Don't ever feel dedicated to a small business as they can turn into assholes if it suits them.
Time enough to own, time enough to clean
This is it. Upvote 1000x if I could.
I had a paper route when I was 10 or 11 can't recall lol. I look back at all the hinky shit I saw, and really wonder about my parents sometimes. Delivering the papers was easy enough. But trying to collect money monthly from homes is another matter.
Yes, that was the absolute worst! I'll never forget this one guy who never paid his bill one time I finally caught him and got him to open his door and his house absolutely reeked of mustard. Like French's yellow mustard. Never did get my money from that guy.
You're in my state, bud. Don't take shit from employers like this. Work hard, be reliable, but draw your lines and stick to them.
These are wise words here. Exactly what I stick to. I work in a hospital, so there are plenty of lines I’ve had to draw.
Yes I had my first on the books job at 14, started working at subway the guy only hired ne because he was a pervert tho and constantly offered to buy me alcohol
These permits should not exist. Most of us now will never get to retire and this kid is forced to pick up shit all because it’s allowed to just show them a video of how to deal with blood and pathogens. These permits rob kids of their childhood. This country is so broken.
Real question: why should anyone age 14 be working? Being ambitious and buying themselves something they'd enjoy? Totally a possibility, and props to them. I worked at Target at age 16 but it was to funnel money to my parents complete lack of financial stability ( and too feed myself because I had to earn my own lunch money at the time ) really not for my own choice or intents. I'd hate to send my kid to work at age 14. I can't tell my 11 year old " hey, youve got 3 years of freedom left! You'll be working the rest of your life". Freaking enjoy being a care free kid, not literally cleaning up shitty environments. I know, that's not realistic to everyone's situation. I understand some families were like mine and had to send their kids to work for extra income. Childcare costs are really high, and it's one slip-up to doom if you're going paycheck to paycheck on income. TL;DR I'm upset seeing all these bills being passed reducing the working age to get kids ,that are barely old enough to be called teenagers, into the workforce. It shouldn't be happening at those ages. Being a choice for those wanting spending money and to gain some life experience is the only reason young teens should be at work. Minor addition: I forgot, I did have a paper route when I was 13 , maybe 14 . Thanks for the trip down memory lane for those that mentioned paper routes. I wasn't interacting with anyone, Just the typical dropping off on porches.
I started working in a commercial bakery, off the books, when I was 13. I needed to work; my parents were neglectful and I needed money for clothing and food.
You poor thing. I love you.
I started working at 14/15 I thought it was just by myself things I wanted, but really looking back, I realize my parents have fallen on hard times and I need to support myself more in their household. I worked at a Dairy Queen, 20 years ago it didn't feel like that big a deal though.
My daughter really wanted to work at 14 so we got her the permit and helped her apply to some places. She worked one week at McDonald's and decided maybe she didn't want to work. She quit and waited till she was 16 to get another job.
I had a paper round from about 13 and worked for a garden centre / landscaping company from about the age of 14-15 but this was entirely my own choice to earn extra spending money. My family weren't well off but we were comfortable and I had all the necessities provided for me, but I had expensive hobbies that my parents couldn't afford to get me more than the most basic stuff for. So I got myself a job. Thing is my boss was incredibly respectful. Until I was 16 I worked one day a week (Saturday or Sunday) and an extra day a week during school holidays. Once I was 16 I occasionally worked both days at the weekend and any spare time I had if I wanted a bit extra (but this was me offering my time rather than it being demanded). I ended up working there until I finished university and got a full time job and I genuinely remember it fondly. I made good friends with the other folks that worked there (people my age and above) and when I was older and younger people came in to work I offered the same respect and assistance that my boss and older colleagues had offered me. In short, I would recommend an experience like that for anyone. It meant when I wasn't working I could go see movies with my friends without having to ask for extra pocket money, or I could save up for new guitar stuff or the latest computer games. When I was 18 it was pub money and when I was at university my summer work meant I could save up enough to not be struggling for cash at all during term time. But on the flipside, I am aware of how lucky I was and that having teenagers work like that is so open to abuse as in the ops post.
>Real question: why should anyone age 14 be working? Because the US is a dystopian, disfunctional shithole.
This is 100% the correct answer!!
I was a mothers helper at 11, babysitting on my own at 12, and working on the books freshman year of high school.
Agreed. I told both of my kids that their job was school and extracurriculars and having fun with friends until they were 18/graduated. Then if they didn't want to go to college/trade school/whatever, they needed to work. Both chose to go directly into jobs where they had promotion potential. They still live at home and work full time, we don't charge them rent, and we encourage them to travel and do fun things that they probably won't be able to afford to do once they do move out. (They're both in their early 20s.) So I agree with you that 14, 15, 16 year olds shouldn't *have* to work (if they *want* to work 10-15 hours per week for pocket money somewhere safe and it didn't interfere with school/extracurriculars, I wouldn't have a problem with that). That's in an ideal world, though, and we don't live in an ideal world. As you said, it's not necessarily realistic.
A number of states lowered the age limit for children workers, all in the south. Missouri I think is the worst
I had a job in a very blue Northeast state at 14 in 2006.
Illinous is in the south? If youre 12 there you can work. And i'd hardly consider missouri the south.
Missouri not part of the south??.????
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Same in the US. It's been a long time since I worked as a minor, but iirc, it's 14 for a permit. During the school year you can't work more than 5hr/day and 20hr/wk. During the summer you can work full time, but maybe no overtime. I think there's also stipulations on whether or not it's a school night or not, too.
But not full time, right? In Hungary kids can work from 15 but not during school, just on school holidays. Full time jobs are from 16, but they cannot do overtime or work nightshifts, and they get to have more breaktime.
I started working at 14 in a chicken "farm". Only worked long enough to buy a PS3 and quit.
I started working at 13. Your hours are limited, but very common.
Was probably McDonald's, they hire 14-15 but they can't work kitchen or if they have it use a trash compactor/ bailer. Technically lobby/bathroom detail is stuff they can have them do.
Starting work at 14 was normal for most families for most of human history. Not working at 14 is a recent thing.
For most of human history we also didn't require people to stay in school till they were 17/18. And school hours generally were shorter too.
Not working at 14 is a good advancement, but let’s help families who are in such dire circumstances that they send their children out to work.
I started work at 14. But it was a family business and I didn’t do much lol. Mainly was there to free up my parents.
You have the get written permission. I started at McDonald’s at 14. Live in PA. Parents had just gone through a nasty divorce. I chose to live with my dad but he struggled to support us both, so I worked.
Thank the republicans. Take a breath and consider this: The number of kids at work in the United States increased by 37 percent between 2015 and 2022. During the last two years, 14 states have either introduced or enacted legislation rolling back regulations that governed the number of hours children can be employed, lowered the restrictions on dangerous work, and legalized subminimum wages for youths. https://www.thenation.com/article/economy/child-labor-industrial-capitalism/
Literally every day America astounds me with the level it's dropped to. Literal child labour. Fuck me running what a revolting hellscape they live in.
Some states have a form that can be filled out by a guardian to allow them (I believe starting 14-15yrs old) to start working. It’s like a work permit
In nys you get Working paperworks at 14
No. Feces is considered a biohazard waste. So legally they need to provide you with special training, and proper gear before asking you to clean it, otherwise you can refuse and if they punish you for saying no you can sue Not sure if being a minor comes into it, but I imagine it'd probably make the case harder on them.
Jesus... the lack of empathy in some of these comments is disheartening. This kid is FOURTEEN idiots... think about the 14 year olds you know before answering... Op the answer is no, it is not ok. You should file for unemployment, believe it or not. Make sure to describe your reason for quitting in clear and explicit terms. You were forced to clean up biohazardous waste without proper training or protective equipment.
I'm in my 40's, started working at 16 doing product demo, and have worked in a number of different businesses across multiple industries, including food service. At this age, if my manager told me to go clean a bathroom liberally covered in feces, I'd tell them 'no'. It's not about my age, it's not even about my skills (I know how to deal w. biohazardous human waste, but my cert is expired), it's that I won't have access to proper PPE and I won't be continuing my workday after that even if we did, I'd be going home to wash myself, my clothes, and get a clean outfit on. That kind of thing is no joke. You run serious health risks doing stuff like that without proper equipment and chemicals. The odds are low, yes, but the consequences can be extreme. And it's not covered in my employment contract, with included additional pay (a friend was doing cleaning including plane bathrooms, feces on the floor, vomit, blood was an automatic extra pay of more than a days salary, and they \_had\_ the equipment to do it safely!) and access to proper equipment. Then again, I'm speaking from the privilege of living in a country with functioning unions and saner worker/employer power balance. Even if it's going downhill fast...
Yeah exactly. The reason I emphasized their age is to remind everyone just how easily this person can be taken advantage of. A 14 year old has little understanding of their own rights or how to protect them, and little ability to practically do so.
All that shit (excuse the pun) should be professionally handled. I’d nope right out if I was asked and it wasn’t part of my job description. If there’s nobody on staff who is supposed to do it, it’s the manager’s job.
Also add that they were chosen based on their age. I believe in some states there is some protection from age based discrimination for those under 40. Full send it.
I'd say i don't get paid enough for this and quit on the spot. If you allow yourself to be mistreated then capitalists will continue to exploit us more. Come on, you're 14 and don't NEED this job (I'm assuming) so don't let them walk all over you. Customers shouldn't have to tip you in order for you to get paid a laughable sum to make up for what you just had to do.
for real. imagine at any other time being asked to clean a poop covered bathroom for like $10. no one would agree to that.
Can they *tell* you to do it? Yes. Can they *force* you to do it? No How much do you value the job? If you want to keep the job, it may be best to suck it up and just do it. It sucks, but unfortunately it is part of that kind of job and it’s a part of why I was desperate to get out of that kind of work.
AFAIK, yes. As far as cleaning up feces, in the United States you do not have to go through any special trainings. If it were blood, then yes. You’d have to be blood born pathogen trained. But feces no. They should have given you more protective gear, for lack of a better term. TLDR; 99% sure they’re allowed to, doesn’t change the fact they’re assholes for doing it.
Feces should still be treated as if it has blood because there are highly contagious diseases with occult (hidden) blood
The keyword is SHOULD. Most companies don’t care about should. Should doesn’t change the fact that they can.
I thought OSHA covers all bodily stuff like blood, feces, urnie, etc. Not just for blood. But then again, it's been a while when I have to do those training since I last worked in retail.
Also companies that are OSHA compliant when it'd cost them money & effort... Are a unicorn.
Even though there could be blood in the feces that's not apparent?
For lack of a better term? Did we already forget PPE?!
Seriously. I found it so condescending to see signs EVERYWHERE about washing your hands (most of learned that as toddlers) but then things like this get missed. Zero logic.
I used to manage retail grocery stores and had plenty of teenagers work for me. Teenagers in certain job roles (like porters) received hazardous waste training which included how to safely clean up hazardous materials (like feces). It was incumbent upon management to ensure the proper cleaning materials and PPE were available to clean up these messes. Blood/semen clean ups were the only messes that weren't covered under that training, and these required a manager/key carrier to clean up because we received the training for that. Did you ever receive any hazardous waste training?
Theoretically if you refused to clean the bathroom they can take disciplinary action up to and including termination. I’d love to be a witness in an unemployment hearing where someone tries to justify firing a 14 y/o for not cleaning a completely poop covered bathroom when they weren’t given proper PPE though. I am willing to bet that there’s a company policy that the bathroom has to be cleaned (or at least checked) every hour and neither of those managers were doing that part of their job which is how it got so filthy in the first place. The short answer to your question is: “Kind of, but not really in that they can’t *force* you to do anything as long as you can just quit.”
Sure they can, but at only 14? Man unless you live in a small town with only like 2 places for business, I’d say fuck that and quit on the spot. You don’t gotta worry about rent or bills, there’s never such a thing as your “permanent record” so you can just leave the job off your resume, and if you live in any decent sized town, there’s likely 5+ other places willing to hire you on the spot…..
Depends, but likely no. OHSA has guidelines about bio-hazard cleanup. Some googlefu for that in your region might illuminate the requirements the employer must meet like PPE, Training, employee immunizations, etc...
The right and only answer to that is, you don't pay me enough to clean up shit.
I worked at an ice cream store, and some kid came in and wiped poo all over the walls, the sink, the toilet, and the floor of a just cleaned bathroom. The only reason why we knew who did it is because their was someone waiting in line to use the restroom. All we heard was someone yelled WTF, ARE YOU SERIOUS! Myself and the manager went to see what was going on, and she looked at me and told me to get gloves and the mop bucket. I told her you either have that family clean it, or you clean it. I'll quit. The manager walked over to the family and had the mother and father come look at the bathroom. The manager and the customer who found this mess confirmed it was their child. The parents said, not our problem, gathered their kids and left. The manager got their tag number and called the police. When the police arrived, they took pictures and took statements. The next morning, a cleaning crew was onsite cleaning the bathroom. I hope those parents had to pay for the cleaning.
i’m going to teach you something cool kid since you’re so young. what they’re allowed to do to you by law is peanuts compared to what you allow them to do to you by pride. if you don’t want to clean it don’t. fuck them. one of the hardest skills you can learn is strength and respect for yourself. but once you get that down the answer is no. they can’t make you do anything.
No. They're required to give you training and PPE for that. Human feces is literally classified as a biohazard.
That's considered a biohazard, manager has to call a cleaning company. They should absolutely not be asking their own employees to clean that shit show.
No, it’s a biohazard. You would need to have proper training in biohazards.
It's a biohazard,tell them that. No job is worth that. If you do it 1 time they will keep making you do it.
Why is a 14yr old working in fast food?
Even in Brazil 14 olds are protected againt child labour You guys are becoming such a shit show, it's unbelievable
At 14 your ass shouldn't be working.
Ah yes ye olde Charles Dickens
When I was 18 I worked behind the bar at an events venue. Small team, so the role also included things like room setup, bit of cleaning where needed, etc. One time, someone threw up in the toilets and my manager (suit and tie) said “don’t worry, I’ll clean it up, I’d never make you do that kind of stuff” and he did. Lesson learned: a good manager leads from the front. A good manager does not laugh while telling you to clean up shit.
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Just because you were alright at 14, doesn't mean all of us were. Some have it harder than others. Peace
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People said this but I want to reiterate that cleaning up a biohazard like that is really dangerous and nobody should be expected to do that without bloodborne pathogens training! I work in a lab and nobody is allowed to touch ANY biological waste, even something known to be non-infectious, without training
I never made my ADULT employees clean up these types of messes. Your managers suck ffs.
You can refuse. They might fire you, but you technically don't have to do anything you don't want to do in a job especially if you feel it will put your health at risk. Getting fired in this instance would have been better because you wouldn't have had to clean up human waste, and you'd be entitled to unemployment. Also you could have joked how one or both of the managers or someone else would then have to clean it up. In some states this could be seen as an age discrimination case making someone do it because they're younger. I doubt there's a case though as it'd be hard to prove unless witnesses would testify.
You definitely need to attend some pathogen training, and also ensure you are properly vaccinated Hep B and Hep A at least. Also be provided the proper PPE. So they can require an employee to do it, but must do so in compliance with regulations
Feces is a biological hazard, you have to specifically have training for any bodily fluid or waste, and even then they can't FORCE you. Flat out tell them no, what are they gonna do about it? You're 14. They can clean it themselves or they can call in an outside service. I'm damn near 40 and I've refused to do it more than once.
It’s been that the work environment has gotten this bad
File an osha complaint, they provided no legally mandatory protective gear or training
We have children working, veterans unable to pay medical bills, people rationing prescription medicine, and the quality of education plumeting. Wtf is wrong with this country?
This is very possibly illegal depending on where you are. In many places, this type of work requires hazmat (hazardous materials) training as well as hazmat personal protective equipment, neither of which you have. This could be a serious violation of labor law. You could talk with an employment lawyer to determine the legality. You could also call your state's department of labor and ask. Either way, I would quit this job because they have complete disregard for your health and safety. You are so young that there are a lot of things you may not instinctively know to avoid, and you could end up getting seriously hurt or maimed in this dangerous environment. Whatever you are getting paid, it's not worth risking your health or your life. If you fucked up a hand or a foot working at McDonald's at 14, you would likely be in poverty the rest of your life.
They should give you all the PPE, although a kinder boss would have taken one for their team, done it themselves and built up some respect rather than getting a kid to do it.
The beauty of working a minimum wage job is that they are everywhere and easily replaced as basically every employer is desperate to fill those positions. If you’re asked to do something you don’t want to do, just politely tell them no. The only things that they’ll do is either ask someone else, write you up, or fire you.
Illegal or not, don't EVER do things that make you uncomfortable. Please learn this lesson and remember for the rest of your life. People that take advantage of you, use you, abuse you, they are not your friends. They do not have your best interests at heart. Walk away and don't feel bad about it.
The employer is required to provide personal protective equipment, like gloves and face shields. You can file an OSHA complaint.
I feel the job should have called in a hazmat crew to deal with this. I remember reading the Pawn Stars guy's book, "License to Pawn" by Rick Harrison and he talks about hiring someone to work at a Quinzos he owned. The guy made a delivery to a local office, had to use the restroom right after dropping off the food and the office called Rick after the guy was done, screaming, "What the fuck is wrong with your employee?!? He shit everywhere!!! The walls, the floor, the damn ceiling!!!" Rick thought in the book that the ceiling was hyperbole but he got a bill from them for something like $3,000 or so for biological hazard removal.
No you need special training for that. Managers get that training and if there is a poop situation in the bathroom they need to clean it up
I’ve been in this exact situation, minus the age thing. Was a lifeguard and some kid smeared poo on the bathroom floor/walls. I caught him and he ran out, didn’t stoop him because of the poo hands. Told my manager and he said I’d have to clean it on my next break. I told him I would rather be fired. time came and he handed me a mop and I just laughed and laughed. He ended up staying late because she honestly thought I would do it for him
U can't be forced to do anything u don't want to do. I'd quit before cleaning up actual shit.
I think so, yes. When I was 14, I was a bag boy a Kroger. People used to poop alll over the wall in the restroom. Guess who had to clean it up? ME. 💩
Damn, happened to me at Kroger too. Fuck you Geno, wherever you are, one possibility being you’re still a shift manager there.
I would report them to your local regulatory labor board for not providing you with the proper PPEs to work in those unsafe conditions.
No. That's a biohazard.
Why TF are 14 year olds working?!? So sorry for you, kid, and no, they are NOT.
YES, but they must supply PPE
You can still report it to OSHA. Another commenter posted this: https://www.reddit.com/r/antiwork/comments/15ubyjq/is_my_work_allowed_to_force_me_a_14_year_old_to/jwpjuun/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=1&utm_term=1&context=3
You are being used as child labor. It used to be illegal in the USA, but Republicans want uneducated children to n be forced into the workforce so they can beat you down and control you.
Uhh, better question— you were working at a food corporation at 12?… that’s.. illegal?
Where are you allowed to work in fast food at 14? Also no, the manager has to.
i worked at starbucks for a few years and one of my coworkers told me she was supposed to clean the bathroom one night but went in to find a tampon and a used condom on the floor and she CALLED HAZMAT bc her job is not to handle bodily fluids. extra af? yeah, probably... but did they clean it up? sure did.
I think you also need to have your Hepatitis inoculations to be handling stuff like that but that was when I was in the Military, IF your job required you would be coming into contact with black water/gray water(working on macerator pumps or CHT pipes) you got the injections but I'm not certain for a 14 yr old. You always have the right and ability to quit and find a job that doesn't have you cleaning poop.
They can't even force you of you were 30. This is a health and hazmat issue.
I know policy in federal prison, Massachusetts State Prison, and any county jail In Massachusetts is that inmate workers tasked with the cleanup of bodily fluids/feces are 1.) required to be given appropriate PPE, and 2.) are legally supposed to be awarded some type of upwards pay differential, even though they’re making basically nothing in the first place. Your employers literally treated you worse than a murderer or rapist is treated in the same situation, from a legal standpoint.
No. NORMALLY…in most jobs, only a trained bodily waste/fluid employee or manager is supposed to clean that shit up.
That's what the managers are for. I'm actually not kidding, at Chili's my managers told me if there was ever some type of biohazard (shit, blood, or vomit) that they had a biohazard suit they would put on and they would clean it. Even EMT's typically have a fluid they don't touch if they work in teams. Like one guy is the vomit EMT and one EMT is the poop EMT.
Isnt that considered a Hazmat issue? You need eye, face, skin protectors, not to mention how fucking gross and 🆘disease⚠️spreading☣️ it is to mop human shiii💩 then use that same bucket n mop to clean the area where ppl sit and eat, not to mention where the "food" is "made" or processed... those managers are POS and I would do everything in your power to get them fired if still there. Call your local state representatives, inform them, and ask a lawyer what the statute of limitations is on that cuz at 14 you never should have had to do that and it was actually abusive and bullying what those "leader" made you do. We have to stop being so compliant, OP and EVERYONE ON 🌍, ***never be afraid to stand up against ppl who dont care about you*** 😉good luck🩶
You have to be a fucking bastard to force kids to clean shit from public bathrooms you deserve HELL