13 replies to this topic

[VictoriaRK]

We are an herb, spice and tea company and the work environment can get dusty at times. One of our employees is having health issues and is stating that she occasionally has issues breathing. She was prescribed an inhaler. For now we have said that it is ok to keep the inhaler on her person, provided it is in a pocket below the waist and covered by the production smock. The room is not huge and if she was having issues she could very quickly go out the door to use the inhaler. 

 

There is some push back and complaining by her and other employees that she should be able to use her inhaler if she needs to in the production room........where there is open product........

 

We are uncomfortable with this, do not think it is food safe and honestly feel that if her condition is so bad, maybe she should not even be working in that room, however there is no other position for her to go to in the company right now. 

 

Has anyone dealt with anything like this, and how did you handle it?

 

Our policy is personal medications are kept in lockers and not allowed in production areas, however we obviously don't want her passing out or having major issues, which is why she was told she could keep it in her pocket and use outside the room. I've read similar posts about rescue inhalers and EPI pens usually being the exception to the medication policy at other facilities as the administration of the medication needs to be done as soon as possible. 

 

Anyone have any advice?

Edited by VictoriaRK, 01 March 2024 - 07:15 PM.

[MDaleDDF]

That's a tough one, but for me, nothing is allowed in the production room, plastic doubly so.    It's a condition of employment here.   If you cannot meet that condition, you're voiding your opportunity for employment with this company, and when you work for us, you sign a document stating so when you're hired.

I don't want to sound cold blooded, but if her condition is so bad she can't make it out of the production room without passing out, it's probably not the job for her anyway.  Another job in the building would be nice if you have it of course, but if you don't.....

Tough call, but that's part of being a boss in a food facility.   Making the hard decisions.

Just mho, others may vary.

[Scampi]

Legally, this will depend heavily on where you live

 

Here, we would be required to find alternative work within the company

 

Have you tried an N95 while she's working?

[VictoriaRK]

Legally, this will depend heavily on where you live

 

Here, we would be required to find alternative work within the company

 

Have you tried an N95 while she's working?

We are in Canada. We have offered an N95 but she doesn't not want to wear it, as she says its difficult to breathe through......she wears a surgical mask which pretty much does nothing for the dust

Edited by VictoriaRK, 01 March 2024 - 07:51 PM.

[SQFconsultant]

I don't see it as "her condition."

 

I see this as an issue with the company not having adequate filtering/air handling.

 

No reason why a person should have had to go out and get an inhaler when it is the company that should be taking care of this situation to begin with.

 

Been in enough herb, tea, coffee, spice companies that did not have this issue because they have the neccessary equipment in place to protect everyone and everything.

[jfrey123]

I don't see it as "her condition."

 

I see this as an issue with the company not having adequate filtering/air handling.

 

No reason why a person should have had to go out and get an inhaler when it is the company that should be taking care of this situation to begin with.

 

Been in enough herb, tea, coffee, spice companies that did not have this issue because they have the neccessary equipment in place to protect everyone and everything.

 

Bingo.  Dust control is a likely root cause here (at least a lawyer would be happy to claim), and I could see this becoming a worker's comp claim pretty quickly if the OP is in a country with such worker's protection laws enacted.

[MOHAMMED ZAMEERUDDIN]

Arrange alternative work that may better accommodate her current health condition. Food safety is also important. Anyway, it is a hard decision.

[jay2023]

I can only speak of my experience in the UK, but we do allow essential medications to be carried and used if required in production areas- health and safety of staff comes first. 

If you tell your employee she has to leave the area to use her medication, what if she collapses before being able to use it? Would your company be liable if she dies trying to follow this instruction? is this going against medical advice?

You would need to carry out a risk assessment for carrying and using the medication, in the same way you would for cleaning chemicals for example and if a risk is determined have a procedure in place to cover it- however the risk of medication from the inhaler affecting product would be insignificant. 

Agree that you should try masks, but if she is asthmatic she may still need to carry an inhaler. try and keep her away from the dusty areas 

[Andy_Yellows]

Have you risk assessed it from a FS perspective? While it would always be preferable not to have any non-production equipment in the area, I have always been of the opinion that health and safety trumps anything else so long as the measure in place to protect staff does not then put the customer at risk further down the line. Is it overly realistic that the customer would be at risk from foreign bodies or micro contamination if a staff member kept this in their pocket and quickly whacked it out when they started the struggle?

 

On the assumption the inhaler is blue like most here in the UK I'd likely look to set up a documented daily pre and post production check of the device for integrity and write a small procedure for use, stating it should be used facing away from open product and that hands must be washed and gloves changed after each use, and have the staff member sign it.

 

Good luck!

[Scampi]

We are in Canada. We have offered an N95 but she doesn't not want to wear it, as she says its difficult to breathe through......she wears a surgical mask which pretty much does nothing for the dust

 

You really should push Sr management to get the dust under control

 

You are obligated to find her alternative work if this issue isn't resolved           but take this as her being the canary in the coal mine       the company could be facing serious issues down the road 

 

Also----------how can you ensure food safety if the dust is truly that heavy?

[VictoriaRK]

You really should push Sr management to get the dust under control

 

You are obligated to find her alternative work if this issue isn't resolved           but take this as her being the canary in the coal mine       the company could be facing serious issues down the road 

 

Also----------how can you ensure food safety if the dust is truly that heavy?

 

Sorry I didn't reply over the weekend but I need to clarify about the dust issue. We have the dust under control, we have large dust collectors over each machine and the option to use additional extra dust collector if needed. The dust is not heavy by any means, but when working with powdered product there will be dust at times. Employees are provided with masks if needed and like I said above have the option of using an additional dust collector if needed in additional to the large overhead ones. No other employees have any issues with the dust, and the employee in question was fine for the past few years working in the same room. It's hard to say it in a nice way but this same employee has had many issues, not just health related. Many complaints about many things, a lot of drama in general. 

 

We actually had an issue with this employee on Friday using her inhaler outside the production room, and then rinsing her mouth out and spitting into the handwashing sink........not very sanitary.....and then saying she was having issues, but then going out into the parking lot and sneaking a cigarette. 

 

So definitely a health and safety issue but also an employee issue I think. We are 100% concerned about her health and want to help make sure she is safe, but certain behaviors are not adding up. We want to do what is right for the employee and also keep the food safe. 

[ChristinaK]

You may want to gather your Food Safety Team, senior management, HR, and legal together and discuss the issue. Explain what can be done from a food safety perspective, HR/legal can explain what can be done from an employment law/employee rights perspective.

 

You have offered her reasonable accommodations, I believe, but she is just not following them. Again, this is where discussing the issue of this employee with the aforementioned departments will help determine if you need to provide further accommodation options per whatever laws apply, or if you have reason to dismiss her for refusal to comply with accommodations.

 

Also...do you have a "no spitting in production and warehouse areas" rule in your GMP program? If you don't, you should consider adding it.

[ashley@doninichocolate]

Beyond addressing the dusty environment,  Life saving medication need to be consider when developing policies. In our case we conducted a risk assessment and developed an effective method to accommodate the needs of the worker without causing hardship to either party.  Medication is limited to one dose, stored in a controlled way with verification at start and end of shift. Department Supervisor(s) and QA lead must be notified when an employee requires accommodation. If this type of accommodation does not suit the situation than we look for guidance from HR focusing on the welfare of the employee.

[Miss Frankie]

Sorry I didn't reply over the weekend but I need to clarify about the dust issue. We have the dust under control, we have large dust collectors over each machine and the option to use additional extra dust collector if needed. The dust is not heavy by any means, but when working with powdered product there will be dust at times. Employees are provided with masks if needed and like I said above have the option of using an additional dust collector if needed in additional to the large overhead ones. No other employees have any issues with the dust, and the employee in question was fine for the past few years working in the same room. It's hard to say it in a nice way but this same employee has had many issues, not just health related. Many complaints about many things, a lot of drama in general. 

 

We actually had an issue with this employee on Friday using her inhaler outside the production room, and then rinsing her mouth out and spitting into the handwashing sink........not very sanitary.....and then saying she was having issues, but then going out into the parking lot and sneaking a cigarette. 

 

So definitely a health and safety issue but also an employee issue I think. We are 100% concerned about her health and want to help make sure she is safe, but certain behaviors are not adding up. We want to do what is right for the employee and also keep the food safe. 

 

She sounds like trouble to me.

I'd enact a "no smoking on premises" policy.  Then watch her closely.  Catch her smoking and fire her for not following company policies.