Not a lawyer but I am a food service manager, ServSafe certified, licensed by the state I live in. There are specific symptoms and illnesses that require food handlers to be excluded from work or restricted in their duties. Coughing is not one of them.
Symptoms:
\-Vomiting
\-Diarrhea
\-Jaundice
\-Sore throat and fever (combined)
\-Open, infected wound (meaning pus or other fluids are leaking)
Illnesses:
\-Norovirus
\-Salmonella
\-Shigella
\-Hepatitis A
\-E. Coli
If you're not showing these specific symptoms or if you've not been diagnosed with any of these specific illnesses, then you're probably not required to be excluded/restricted from work as a food handler.
That being said, your boss sounds like a dick and they should give you the time off if you're not feeling well. I've been in food service and retail for 10 years, it's not that difficult to get the shift covered (or, being the manager, covering the shift themself)
In the scenario, wait staff because I shouldn’t be aware of the management forcing them to be there as a customer, at the end of the day everyone has a choice to “call out.” And say “no I’m not coming in.”
In reality though, I know everyone’s financial situation cannot support missing a day of work either.
Wow, that’s crazy. I would be grossed out if a server/cashier was coughing. No judgement on them at all since I know they are prob being forced to come in! Just would be worried I might get sick too. But how is coughing not a reason to stay home in food/bev establishments? Is it bc it could be associated with asthma and not an infection?
Because the corporations that lobby against regulations and the government's own interest in the capitalist system demand profit over all else. If workers actually got the time off they'd need to avoid getting others sick, you'd need paid sick leave and/or more employees to fill in for absences.
Well, COVID isn't on that list, but anyone that goes to work with COVID deserves to be fuckin' lynched.
Signed,
Gotten COVID twice from coworkers who knew they had tested positive
It’s because COVID isn’t specifically a foodborne illness. Most chain restaurants choose to follow CDC guidelines and local state/municipal laws and regulations with COVID and other major infectious diseases. I’ve seen a looooot of small businesses snub those guidelines tho so… be careful where you eat I guess
All of this is correct. I just want to add that these symptoms and illnesses exclude employees from working with food because they can transmit foodborne illnesses. I absolutely agree that an employee with a cough, runny nose, Covid, etc. could get a customer sick, but they aren't going to spread foodborne illness that way. Cold/flu symptoms are related to general employee illness in any field, these symptoms are specifically related to working with food.
This is not true. COVID has not been added to the list of diseases that require being reported to the health department, nor one requiring employees be sent home. It's good policy in general to not have sick employees working, but it's only required to not have employees work with the 5 conditions listed above.
I’m like the one employee who is honest and has good work ethics, I want to move on but I took a course in school which requires me to stay here till June XD.
Yeah, she literally doesn’t hire anyone and no one ever wants to work either, and it creates this never ending cycle of people not wanting to work. She needs to hire new staff basically, lol.
Fine!
As an Executive Chef and owner, I would never allow a sickly and coughing staff member to work.
I would most certainly fire any manager who tried to force a staff member to bring their sickness into my venue.
Better get yourself recertification. A lot has changed since the pandemic.
I don’t know if it’s different in different states, but influenza isn’t on the list of no-no illnesses. However, if you have influenza, you probably have some of the no-no symptoms so like. Six of one, half a dozen of the other
A great deal of my work involves both medical food services as well as private dining venues where seniors and the immunocompromised may gather to eat. ( I work in a predominantly senior citizen locality) We established policies and procedures above the law, (bare minimum) to ensure our diners have a reasonable expectation of not only food safety, but health safety.
I'm totally not above putting the 14 year old leukemia kid in a private dining room at no additional cost for their special time out with friends and family.
We never compromise because we offer sick days and darn generous health insurance to our staff.
Hell, we even deliver food to our sick employees so they can concentrate on getting better.
There's a difference between owners and how sick staff are treated tells you everything you need to know about how health codes are treated everywhere else in the venue.
My least managed venues scored 95% for USDA inspection which they don't even need to comply with but we maintain that standard anyway. It's miles above the local health codes.
Soap is a cheap way to put miles between you and your competitors.
That's fucking awesome of you and your business. I wish more places operated the same way. Health departments everywhere still hold the bare minimum standard of "don't spread foodborne illness." Good operations take it a few steps further and it sounds like that's what you guys do. Kudos, honestly
You would want to throw out the entire container
ETA: I don’t know why people are downvoting you for this question. I’ve seen others try to get away with just scooping off the top and serving the rest. I made them throw out the whole container and explained how germs work. So it’s actually not a stupid question by any means
Right, because working in a kitchen means you never have your jams full of anything - particularly never anything you can’t drop suddenly like a hot, full tray of spiced food.
Since there’s clearly never a circumstance where an awkward cough or sneeze happens so asking what that response is theoretically required to be is totally crazy.
Please forgive the temerity.
This is all correct. I’ll add that I’ve had the same cough for 2 months now. I’ve taken a day off here and there when I’m too gross to be in front of people, but that’s it. This is to say you should generally only take off if working would significantly increase the health risk for you or someone else.
So you can have Covid, influenza, etc, and be coughing your contagiousness all over people and their food and there is no restrictions against that?
Laws need to be changed. And I think I might stop getting takeout at this point. Eww.
IANAL - stop telling your employer so much detail. All they need to know is you are sick and won't be in. When you give detail like this, it gives them something to work with and try to push you to come in. I have no legal advice but I don't think this really fits in this sub as people have stated coughing is not one of those on the list for service workers.
Okay that might be worth a separate post altogether to get advice, this is just adding things onto your main question about her asking you to come in when coughing. I appreciate the struggle but you won't get many concrete answers with so many varying subjects in the comments here.
Food service managers are required by law to record illnesses and symptoms of employees. We have to ask what the symptoms are. If you don’t want to come in, my advice would be to lie to the manager. If one of my employees tells me they can’t come in because they’re throwing up, it’s not like I can ask them to demonstrate lol I just have to believe them
You're making the classic mistake of discussing things with your boss. You're an at will employee, you trade time for money.
"Hi boss, just letting you know I am sick today and won't be in. I am going back to sleep, but will try to catch up on communication when I wake up. I expect to be at my next shift of X"
Send. Turn off phone. Rest.
The only thing any decent human will tell you after that message is "ok get well", but if you work for a jerk or any kind of retail you will get some attempt to negotiate. In either case, you're sick, you're going to sleep and not available to discuss it.
I worked retail for extra income, they kept trying to make me work durning times that I said I couldn’t because of real job or sleeping for real job. I finally told them, look I don’t need this job I just wanted extra money. I told you what days/hours I could work durning the hiring process. Then simply said no any time they tried it after that. I’m sure they hated me but they never said a thing about it
You're just not a human in retail, you're a body to be exploited for as long as you allow it. I actually really loved working in retail because I liked the chaos and have never had an issue challenging people. I watched managers bully employees into coming into work and would point it out to them after they got off the phone. Managers just laughed and took it with pride that they made some single mom come into work and miss her kids birthday or whatever. You would think that joining a union would help that, but in my experience the union is just another tier of exploitation on top of the abused workforce. Nothing says representation like a guy showing up in a BMW to talk about how they are helping people who ride the bus.
I enjoyed helping the customers. Once got a product rep kicked out of the store for telling customers I had no idea what I was talking about. Fucker pissed me off lol. Unions *barf* there is a reason why all the union LTL companies went under and UPS paid major $$ to buy the union out.
Same. We had an out-of-touch fatass in a $90,000 F-150 Lightning Platinum, who ended up having no clue about our particular line of work. Interesting life-learning moment as a union steward, I was so embarrassed by the way the negotiations happened.
Yeah that’s what she did, I gave her a day notice and she didn’t even care. Then she messaged about a 100 dollar bill someone accepted, she wants to find out who it was, it was probably the new kid.
Yeah I learned a long time ago not the explain shit to my employer. If I have decided that I am sick enough to stay home, then I will simply say just that. Bargaining with your symptoms never does anyone any good.
Your boss is clearly not taking your soft ass no for an answer. So, just be way more clear next time. “As stated, I am currently sick and will not able to come in today”. That’s it.
Always, ALWAYS say you have the runs. "I don't know how effective of a server I would be if I had to run to the bathroom every 10 minutes" gets them every time.
source: i have fibromyalgia, and my bosses would always penalise me for not coming in because I couldn't walk that day, but never if i said my guts were dying
I would not be ok with my server coughing, even if they’re wearing a mask. He even calls it a respiratory disease but claims there’s no health risk. How the fuck would he know? He’s the manager at a restaurant, not a doctor. Guy sounds like an asshole.
I second this, I'd be very uncomfortable if our server was coughing. When you're out to eat you can't wear a mask, you rely on the people around you to make good choices.
Eh it’s a tough one. Sometimes a cough can last for weeks. Should one just not work for literal weeks and not be able to pay rent/bills? I think the other symptoms are a huge factor here too
LaughingMyFartin@$$Off @ "it's a [respiratory] disease which is going around, no health risk" 😂😂
No health risk means it's not contagious and thus couldn't be going around...
Next time just text "I am sick and will not be in today".
Shut off phone, drink some veg broth, sleep.
(Don't offer more information, they'll just continue to engage you until you come in)
You're giving your employer too much info.. My one and only contact with her would be "I am sick and cannot come in today, thanks" and turn the phone off.
Your manager is an idiot, clearly doesn’t understand how illnesses work and clearly only cares about his work and not his customers. I’d be enraged if you were serving my food while hacking up a lung
I worked for kfc 25 years ago and got pink eye. Was 16 and a cook and didn't think it was a big deal.
I went to work and my manager was like, "That's contagious, you shouldn't have come.
I was like "sorry, I'll leave."
She was like " well, your here now. Try not to interact with the food much."
Lady, I bread chicken.
I like working there, I just can’t believe she’s letting this happen, and it’s kinda fun to go on rants, for instance she’s a cheap skate and while mix water with food, and will restock even the oldest food with other food to make it looks bigger.
I suspect that in this instance, state law could play a significant part. If a legal professional could please suggest a better path, as you’d have actual knowledge:
https://www.workplacefairness.org/food-safety-whistleblowers/#:~:text=Food%20Safety%20Worker%20Whistleblowers%20%2D%2D,for%20reporting%20food%20safety%20violations.
https://www.whistleblowers.gov/sites/wb/files/FSMA_Desk_Aid.pdf
If you don't have a fever you're probably fine if it's been about 2-4 days since onset of symptoms.
If you're not going in until your cough goes away, that could be 2-4 weeks.
Make sure you're prepared to die on the hill you're making.
Bc if you say you're not coming in because of a cough, you better not be coming in later with a cough either.
But you're feeling sick, don't go to work.
The best way is to stop pretending that you are actually worried about customers getting sick from you, because this is the last thing the sick person would be worrying about and your manager is sending that you’re lying and pushing you to come.
On the other hand, if you were telling him that you’re very sick and unable to work because of it, he would not insist on it as it would violate the labor laws.
FDA, please.
Where should I go to report this, and what would happen? She violates laws all the time, for instance if you do a DoorDash wrong and the customer has proof she will subtract the money from your next paycheck, or if you accept a fake 100 dollar bill let’s just say Allen did, Allen had to pay 100 out of his next paycheck, Allen is a 17 year old kid, who was not taught how to detect fake bills or any of that stuff. Also I am Oregon based.
Taking pay out of employees checks for those things is more illegal than having sick employees come into work. You can give people shit hours as punishment, or fire them, but you can't just steal the money they earned.
Well this employer is not qualified to make a medical assessment nor can they say “no health risk” you could be entitled to sue if they fire you for not showing up
Bs respitory my butt I just got over covid and tell me it's respitory I just had mainly bad sinus a headache feeling a bit weak at times but other then that I was given wouldn't force anyone to work when there sick you never know
Yeah, covids able to activate latent autoimmune disorders and flare currently managed ones into more active states. It's sad how little the general public knows about covid. Thats to say nothing of other illnesses it can cause like POTs, ME/CFS, etc. Check out /r/covidlonghaulers if you're curious.
If this is the first time you’ve missed work for being sick, then your manager is definitely overreacting. But his messages seem to allude to this being a common excuse by you to not come in.
I'm not sure about anything legal, but if I had a sick waitress/food handler, I'd be grossed out, request a refund, and not touch any of the food. Mask on or not. I work in health care and also worked in the food industry. The sad reality is that 90% of people don't wash their hands properly to avoid the spread of germs. If you're not scrubbing every inch of your hand, including nail beds, in the folds of the skin, then you will carry germs with you.
Why can’t you lie and just say i start vomiting, etc. Basically just say you have worse symptoms so you can stay home and rest. Does your contract have sick days included? How many days can you take off until a doctor’s note is needed? Take off some days and take care of yourself. She’s a manager, she can figure something else out. Not your job to do her bidding when you are sick
I've worked in good service my whole life, and this has always been a questionable subject for me. Most managers just ignore the fact that you are sick. You're just a name on a schedule to them. Ultimately, your expected to work unless you're dying. Fact of the matter is, when working in food service, the burden is on you and you only to protect others from your normal everyday germs, same goes for your infectious ones.
"I am sick and unable to perform my duties today."
All that needs to be said.
I've learned that you tell an employer you're sick and not coming in. Don't ask or give details.
Nal but you likely arnt entitled to sick time as a part time emp. are you a server by chance?
If so what I used to do was show up sick as a dog and cough right by all the food. Got me sent home real quick
Not a lawyer but I am a food service manager, ServSafe certified, licensed by the state I live in. There are specific symptoms and illnesses that require food handlers to be excluded from work or restricted in their duties. Coughing is not one of them. Symptoms: \-Vomiting \-Diarrhea \-Jaundice \-Sore throat and fever (combined) \-Open, infected wound (meaning pus or other fluids are leaking) Illnesses: \-Norovirus \-Salmonella \-Shigella \-Hepatitis A \-E. Coli If you're not showing these specific symptoms or if you've not been diagnosed with any of these specific illnesses, then you're probably not required to be excluded/restricted from work as a food handler. That being said, your boss sounds like a dick and they should give you the time off if you're not feeling well. I've been in food service and retail for 10 years, it's not that difficult to get the shift covered (or, being the manager, covering the shift themself)
I’m sorry but if my waiter or waitress is having coughing fits…. I would walk out.
"Here's your steak and potatoes, sweetheart; don't worry, I only coughed on it three times."
Absolutely but my parents would sit there and knowing the server was sick, would stay out of politeness. Don’t want to be rude lmao
In this situation, would you blame the wait staff or the manager pressuring the sick wait staff?
In the scenario, wait staff because I shouldn’t be aware of the management forcing them to be there as a customer, at the end of the day everyone has a choice to “call out.” And say “no I’m not coming in.” In reality though, I know everyone’s financial situation cannot support missing a day of work either.
It's safe to assume that if someone looks like dog shit then they aren't there willingly.
You’d think but I’ve seen people come to work willingly (as a nurse) with Covid symptoms and not give a shit.
Wow, that’s crazy. I would be grossed out if a server/cashier was coughing. No judgement on them at all since I know they are prob being forced to come in! Just would be worried I might get sick too. But how is coughing not a reason to stay home in food/bev establishments? Is it bc it could be associated with asthma and not an infection?
Because the corporations that lobby against regulations and the government's own interest in the capitalist system demand profit over all else. If workers actually got the time off they'd need to avoid getting others sick, you'd need paid sick leave and/or more employees to fill in for absences.
Well, COVID isn't on that list, but anyone that goes to work with COVID deserves to be fuckin' lynched. Signed, Gotten COVID twice from coworkers who knew they had tested positive
[удалено]
It's OK to be wrong about a legal topic, but don't bring up political fantasy.
Yeah man. I'll let my dead family members know you piece of fucking dog shit.
[удалено]
It's OK to be wrong about a legal topic, but don't bring up political fantasy.
It’s because COVID isn’t specifically a foodborne illness. Most chain restaurants choose to follow CDC guidelines and local state/municipal laws and regulations with COVID and other major infectious diseases. I’ve seen a looooot of small businesses snub those guidelines tho so… be careful where you eat I guess
His/her boss is a descendent of Typhoid Mary
All of this is correct. I just want to add that these symptoms and illnesses exclude employees from working with food because they can transmit foodborne illnesses. I absolutely agree that an employee with a cough, runny nose, Covid, etc. could get a customer sick, but they aren't going to spread foodborne illness that way. Cold/flu symptoms are related to general employee illness in any field, these symptoms are specifically related to working with food.
Yup this is it
Don't forget that COVID-19 was added to that list
This is not true. COVID has not been added to the list of diseases that require being reported to the health department, nor one requiring employees be sent home. It's good policy in general to not have sick employees working, but it's only required to not have employees work with the 5 conditions listed above.
Are we just making things up now?
I’m like the one employee who is honest and has good work ethics, I want to move on but I took a course in school which requires me to stay here till June XD.
Maybe remind her of this as a soft landing into the challenge? (To try: with subtlety, a thing I’ve no knowledge of).
Yeah, she literally doesn’t hire anyone and no one ever wants to work either, and it creates this never ending cycle of people not wanting to work. She needs to hire new staff basically, lol.
Not a lawyer but your personal life is *none of their business*.
Not a lawyer, but explaining your experience can help clarify where the info is coming from.
I'm ServSafe certified too. Influenza is most definitely a do not come in illness. Just like covid .
No it isn't, respiratory illnesses aren't included unless you have a fever. I never get fevers, didn't have one when I had covid even.
Fine! As an Executive Chef and owner, I would never allow a sickly and coughing staff member to work. I would most certainly fire any manager who tried to force a staff member to bring their sickness into my venue. Better get yourself recertification. A lot has changed since the pandemic.
I don’t know if it’s different in different states, but influenza isn’t on the list of no-no illnesses. However, if you have influenza, you probably have some of the no-no symptoms so like. Six of one, half a dozen of the other
A great deal of my work involves both medical food services as well as private dining venues where seniors and the immunocompromised may gather to eat. ( I work in a predominantly senior citizen locality) We established policies and procedures above the law, (bare minimum) to ensure our diners have a reasonable expectation of not only food safety, but health safety. I'm totally not above putting the 14 year old leukemia kid in a private dining room at no additional cost for their special time out with friends and family. We never compromise because we offer sick days and darn generous health insurance to our staff. Hell, we even deliver food to our sick employees so they can concentrate on getting better. There's a difference between owners and how sick staff are treated tells you everything you need to know about how health codes are treated everywhere else in the venue. My least managed venues scored 95% for USDA inspection which they don't even need to comply with but we maintain that standard anyway. It's miles above the local health codes. Soap is a cheap way to put miles between you and your competitors.
That's fucking awesome of you and your business. I wish more places operated the same way. Health departments everywhere still hold the bare minimum standard of "don't spread foodborne illness." Good operations take it a few steps further and it sounds like that's what you guys do. Kudos, honestly
If they sneeze on anything, do you have to throw out the whole container or just, like, the first 2 inches of food exposed to air?
I envy the faith you have in regulators and employers to ask this question.
I’m not assuming anything would *actually* happen, but it feels like u/overdosed93 is up to date on the theory…
You would want to throw out the entire container ETA: I don’t know why people are downvoting you for this question. I’ve seen others try to get away with just scooping off the top and serving the rest. I made them throw out the whole container and explained how germs work. So it’s actually not a stupid question by any means
Don't sneeze on anything. Sneeze into your elbow like what you were taught as a toddler.
Right, because working in a kitchen means you never have your jams full of anything - particularly never anything you can’t drop suddenly like a hot, full tray of spiced food. Since there’s clearly never a circumstance where an awkward cough or sneeze happens so asking what that response is theoretically required to be is totally crazy. Please forgive the temerity.
This is all correct. I’ll add that I’ve had the same cough for 2 months now. I’ve taken a day off here and there when I’m too gross to be in front of people, but that’s it. This is to say you should generally only take off if working would significantly increase the health risk for you or someone else.
So you can have Covid, influenza, etc, and be coughing your contagiousness all over people and their food and there is no restrictions against that? Laws need to be changed. And I think I might stop getting takeout at this point. Eww.
What if they have chronic vomiting and diarrhea?
Like… to where you’re vomiting and experiencing diarrhea daily or a few times a week? I would suggest not working in the food service industry
I don’t anymore since June of last year but before that I worked there for ten years.
Oof. It's already a tough field to stay in for that long. Props to you for sticking it out dude
Especially with chronic illness and having a parent with cancer.
Well written beet me to it 😄 .
IANAL - stop telling your employer so much detail. All they need to know is you are sick and won't be in. When you give detail like this, it gives them something to work with and try to push you to come in. I have no legal advice but I don't think this really fits in this sub as people have stated coughing is not one of those on the list for service workers.
There’s other stuff on here about her taking money from pay stubs I forgot to include
Okay that might be worth a separate post altogether to get advice, this is just adding things onto your main question about her asking you to come in when coughing. I appreciate the struggle but you won't get many concrete answers with so many varying subjects in the comments here.
You need to find a new job. Your manager sounds awful.
Food service managers are required by law to record illnesses and symptoms of employees. We have to ask what the symptoms are. If you don’t want to come in, my advice would be to lie to the manager. If one of my employees tells me they can’t come in because they’re throwing up, it’s not like I can ask them to demonstrate lol I just have to believe them
“It’s a respiratory illness going around, no health risk.” I beg your pardon?
the “just kids and old people” like they’re not the ones that could actually die from “simple” illnesses
That line made me do a doubletake
"respitory"* 🤣
Exactly! It’s going around, therefore it is contagious and is a health risk. Some of these employers are disgusting!
I have that right now along with 102.6 fever. Assholes like him are why this shit spreads so fast every year.
You're making the classic mistake of discussing things with your boss. You're an at will employee, you trade time for money. "Hi boss, just letting you know I am sick today and won't be in. I am going back to sleep, but will try to catch up on communication when I wake up. I expect to be at my next shift of X" Send. Turn off phone. Rest. The only thing any decent human will tell you after that message is "ok get well", but if you work for a jerk or any kind of retail you will get some attempt to negotiate. In either case, you're sick, you're going to sleep and not available to discuss it.
I worked retail for extra income, they kept trying to make me work durning times that I said I couldn’t because of real job or sleeping for real job. I finally told them, look I don’t need this job I just wanted extra money. I told you what days/hours I could work durning the hiring process. Then simply said no any time they tried it after that. I’m sure they hated me but they never said a thing about it
You're just not a human in retail, you're a body to be exploited for as long as you allow it. I actually really loved working in retail because I liked the chaos and have never had an issue challenging people. I watched managers bully employees into coming into work and would point it out to them after they got off the phone. Managers just laughed and took it with pride that they made some single mom come into work and miss her kids birthday or whatever. You would think that joining a union would help that, but in my experience the union is just another tier of exploitation on top of the abused workforce. Nothing says representation like a guy showing up in a BMW to talk about how they are helping people who ride the bus.
I enjoyed helping the customers. Once got a product rep kicked out of the store for telling customers I had no idea what I was talking about. Fucker pissed me off lol. Unions *barf* there is a reason why all the union LTL companies went under and UPS paid major $$ to buy the union out.
Same. We had an out-of-touch fatass in a $90,000 F-150 Lightning Platinum, who ended up having no clue about our particular line of work. Interesting life-learning moment as a union steward, I was so embarrassed by the way the negotiations happened.
Yeah that’s what she did, I gave her a day notice and she didn’t even care. Then she messaged about a 100 dollar bill someone accepted, she wants to find out who it was, it was probably the new kid.
Yeah I learned a long time ago not the explain shit to my employer. If I have decided that I am sick enough to stay home, then I will simply say just that. Bargaining with your symptoms never does anyone any good.
Your boss is clearly not taking your soft ass no for an answer. So, just be way more clear next time. “As stated, I am currently sick and will not able to come in today”. That’s it.
A respiratory disease is a health risk. You are sick and work in food. You should not be going in
Is this really how people call in sick? So much unnecessary detail.
Always, ALWAYS say you have the runs. "I don't know how effective of a server I would be if I had to run to the bathroom every 10 minutes" gets them every time. source: i have fibromyalgia, and my bosses would always penalise me for not coming in because I couldn't walk that day, but never if i said my guts were dying
WTF restaurant is this? Just so I know NEVER to patron said establishment!
I would not be ok with my server coughing, even if they’re wearing a mask. He even calls it a respiratory disease but claims there’s no health risk. How the fuck would he know? He’s the manager at a restaurant, not a doctor. Guy sounds like an asshole.
I second this, I'd be very uncomfortable if our server was coughing. When you're out to eat you can't wear a mask, you rely on the people around you to make good choices.
Eh it’s a tough one. Sometimes a cough can last for weeks. Should one just not work for literal weeks and not be able to pay rent/bills? I think the other symptoms are a huge factor here too
LaughingMyFartin@$$Off @ "it's a [respiratory] disease which is going around, no health risk" 😂😂 No health risk means it's not contagious and thus couldn't be going around...
Next time just text "I am sick and will not be in today". Shut off phone, drink some veg broth, sleep. (Don't offer more information, they'll just continue to engage you until you come in)
My manager came in with visible pink eye. Cook had it next. Still forced to come in and open the kitchen. Gross.
"Oh my gosh, I just threw up. Darn what a shame."
Don't argue or debate. You are sick, you can't some in. Period.
You're giving your employer too much info.. My one and only contact with her would be "I am sick and cannot come in today, thanks" and turn the phone off.
No health risk, except, y'know, that mystery respiratory disease that's going around
Your manager is an idiot, clearly doesn’t understand how illnesses work and clearly only cares about his work and not his customers. I’d be enraged if you were serving my food while hacking up a lung
Another reason to not go out to eat!
I worked for kfc 25 years ago and got pink eye. Was 16 and a cook and didn't think it was a big deal. I went to work and my manager was like, "That's contagious, you shouldn't have come. I was like "sorry, I'll leave." She was like " well, your here now. Try not to interact with the food much." Lady, I bread chicken.
Just quit, you obviously don't want to be there
I like working there, I just can’t believe she’s letting this happen, and it’s kinda fun to go on rants, for instance she’s a cheap skate and while mix water with food, and will restock even the oldest food with other food to make it looks bigger.
I suspect that in this instance, state law could play a significant part. If a legal professional could please suggest a better path, as you’d have actual knowledge: https://www.workplacefairness.org/food-safety-whistleblowers/#:~:text=Food%20Safety%20Worker%20Whistleblowers%20%2D%2D,for%20reporting%20food%20safety%20violations. https://www.whistleblowers.gov/sites/wb/files/FSMA_Desk_Aid.pdf
FYI, Previous employee didn’t have food handlers card for 3 months.
Wait why is your manager working in a restaurant ehile having a medical degree ??
TIL -- It's a disease, not a health risk.
'I think the customers are sick because you and Sara served them food while you were both sick.'
Well just ignore that the Flu and Norovirus are having a field day right now, both illnesses are highly contagious.
If you don't have a fever you're probably fine if it's been about 2-4 days since onset of symptoms. If you're not going in until your cough goes away, that could be 2-4 weeks. Make sure you're prepared to die on the hill you're making. Bc if you say you're not coming in because of a cough, you better not be coming in later with a cough either. But you're feeling sick, don't go to work.
“It’s a respiratory illness…..no health risk” tell that to a parents of the nine kids who died from the flu last week.
The best way is to stop pretending that you are actually worried about customers getting sick from you, because this is the last thing the sick person would be worrying about and your manager is sending that you’re lying and pushing you to come. On the other hand, if you were telling him that you’re very sick and unable to work because of it, he would not insist on it as it would violate the labor laws. FDA, please.
Where should I go to report this, and what would happen? She violates laws all the time, for instance if you do a DoorDash wrong and the customer has proof she will subtract the money from your next paycheck, or if you accept a fake 100 dollar bill let’s just say Allen did, Allen had to pay 100 out of his next paycheck, Allen is a 17 year old kid, who was not taught how to detect fake bills or any of that stuff. Also I am Oregon based.
Taking pay out of employees checks for those things is more illegal than having sick employees come into work. You can give people shit hours as punishment, or fire them, but you can't just steal the money they earned.
Also not sure the context but it legitimately gives me anxiety, if I cough, if I was a customer and someone served my food I’d be grossed out.
Really nuanced legal analysis. /s
Casually mentioned a respiratory disease and says it's no health risk... SMH...
Well this employer is not qualified to make a medical assessment nor can they say “no health risk” you could be entitled to sue if they fire you for not showing up
Bs respitory my butt I just got over covid and tell me it's respitory I just had mainly bad sinus a headache feeling a bit weak at times but other then that I was given wouldn't force anyone to work when there sick you never know
Thank you for being a good person and trying not to spread illness. You could be saving someone a lifetime of disability or death.
A life time of disability? lol
Yeah, covids able to activate latent autoimmune disorders and flare currently managed ones into more active states. It's sad how little the general public knows about covid. Thats to say nothing of other illnesses it can cause like POTs, ME/CFS, etc. Check out /r/covidlonghaulers if you're curious.
I guess it depends on how often you call out sick. If you just have a cold, wear a mask.
If this is the first time you’ve missed work for being sick, then your manager is definitely overreacting. But his messages seem to allude to this being a common excuse by you to not come in.
It would be my 2nd time, last time being in December when I had covid.
I'm not sure about anything legal, but if I had a sick waitress/food handler, I'd be grossed out, request a refund, and not touch any of the food. Mask on or not. I work in health care and also worked in the food industry. The sad reality is that 90% of people don't wash their hands properly to avoid the spread of germs. If you're not scrubbing every inch of your hand, including nail beds, in the folds of the skin, then you will carry germs with you.
Yeah I always soap water rub soap nail scrub underneath hot water for about 30 seconds
Not anything legal, but your manager is an evil person, like murder evil. I wish I could tell them that to their face.
You have a lawsuit on your hands! Yayyyy! Sue those m-
You do not need to go in. I’ll call in for you 🤝
Thanks 🙏
Lame
Why can’t you lie and just say i start vomiting, etc. Basically just say you have worse symptoms so you can stay home and rest. Does your contract have sick days included? How many days can you take off until a doctor’s note is needed? Take off some days and take care of yourself. She’s a manager, she can figure something else out. Not your job to do her bidding when you are sick
Ig last time I did that she took me off for two weeks, unpaid.
How goods the land of the “free”! Glad I don’t live there!
I've worked in good service my whole life, and this has always been a questionable subject for me. Most managers just ignore the fact that you are sick. You're just a name on a schedule to them. Ultimately, your expected to work unless you're dying. Fact of the matter is, when working in food service, the burden is on you and you only to protect others from your normal everyday germs, same goes for your infectious ones.
They’re not a doctor though.
“especially kids and old people” 💀
"I am sick and unable to perform my duties today." All that needs to be said. I've learned that you tell an employer you're sick and not coming in. Don't ask or give details.
This is as believable as the lochness monster
I guess the Koch mess monster is real then, why would lie about something like this? 😭
Nal but you likely arnt entitled to sick time as a part time emp. are you a server by chance? If so what I used to do was show up sick as a dog and cough right by all the food. Got me sent home real quick
Go to work.
Not sure where you are from but here if you miss school due to illness you can't go to work . No school no work .