let’s discuss egregious safety violations at work
You’d think safety would be top of mind for employers, but some are willing to tolerate egregious safety issues in order to keep people working. Some examples that have been shared by readers in the past:
• “At a call center job, there was a tornado that touched down just a few miles away and they refused to let people off the phones to seek shelter. Another time someone pulled the fire alarm and no one moved. They just kept on taking calls because they would get in trouble or face getting fired if they did not take phone calls. A third time people were getting sick. There was an odd smell throughout the center. People were allowed to leave but they did get docked a half point. Someone called the fire department because it could have been a gas leak. Instead of evacuating, they kept everyone working and the fire department walked around with some sort of meter thing. We never found out what it was.”
• “I worked on the top floor of a seven-story building and looked out one day to see fire engines everywhere. I asked the office manager if he knew what was going on. Apparently, there was a bomb threat but our office did not want to evacuate!”
• “I once couldn’t get an employee to take shelter on his own during an active shooter situation. He just wanted to stay at his desk and play on his computer. (!!!) I had to get help from a male coworker to physically drag him into shelter.”
What egregious safety violations have you seen in your own workplaces? Let’s discuss in the comments.
