Safety Hazards Violation of California Labor Law
In Jonathan’s case, he was already in the unsafe and dangerous workplace. The California labor code also says that “No employer shall require, or permit any employee to go or be in any employment or place of employment which is not safe and healthful.”
“I worked as a cook at Chipotle for three months,” says Jonathan. “It was just a matter of time before someone had a serious accident. No one spoke up about the safety conditions here; nobody brought it to the supervisor’s attention. I know they were afraid of losing their jobs if they did complain about the hazardous environment. They always complained amongst each other, at every chance they could. But when push came to shove, nobody would back me.
"Some people have been working at Chipotle for years and they like their jobs. I work mostly with women in the kitchen and they constantly complained about how they didn’t like the conditions. There were slippery floors, for one thing. The first time I complained to my boss was about a big pot, it was a huge pressure cooker that only had one handle??"the other had broken off.
"My boss said, ‘Just work with it and you have to learn how to move around in this job, adapt’. She didn’t want to hear that anything was unsafe. But how can you take a heavy pot from one end of the kitchen to the dishwasher that is boiling hot and ‘adapt’? I’m sure my employer is familiar with California labor employment law??"they count on employees not speaking out because they are afraid of losing their jobs.
"I have to prep food. The policy at Chipotle is that you have to wear a metal mesh cutting glove (I’m 6’ 4” and 220 lbs) but the glove they gave me was way too small. I got bruises and my hand was cramped, so I complained. My boss said that she couldn’t get another glove because someone threw the others away. I have knife skills but this was their policy: If you got caught by the manager not wearing it you would be fired. On my first day I started prepping without the glove and I was reprimanded. ‘Whoa, don’t ever do that again, ever,’ my boss told me. ‘If you cut yourself not wearing the glove, we aren’t liable.’ I guess someone had a bad accident in the past…
"Here’s another thing: The pilots on the ovens always went out while I was cooking. There were usually a few burners that didn’t work; I would turn on the burner but it wouldn’t ignite. I shouldn’t have to light the pilots all the time but that went on for weeks. When you’re in a hurry, you just turn your burner on and if it didn’t light, sometimes it took a while to relight the pilot. This meant that gas was pumping out of that burner??"sometimes for a minute or so.
"The last time I complained, my supervisor basically told me to shut up and just do my job. I believe I got fired because of the safety issues but my boss told me it was because I ‘had an attitude’. I didn’t smile enough and customers can see me??"we work in an open kitchen. It’s pretty hard to smile all the time with my hand in that mesh glove, walking on slippery floors and trying to carry a pot with one handle.”
The California labor code states:
Any employee who is discharged, threatened with discharge, demoted, suspended, or in any other manner discriminated against in the terms and conditions of employment by his or her employer because the employee has made a bona fide oral or written complaint to the division, other governmental agencies having statutory responsibility for or assisting the division with reference to employee safety or health, his or her employer, or his or her representative, of unsafe working conditions, or work practices, in his or her employment or place of employment, or has participated in an employer-employee occupational health and safety committee, shall be entitled to reinstatement and reimbursement for lost wages and work benefits caused by the acts of the employer. Any employer who willfully refuses to rehire, promote, or otherwise restore an employee or former employee who has been determined to be eligible for rehiring or promotion by a grievance procedure, arbitration, or hearing authorized by law, is guilty of a misdemeanor. (Labor Code Section 6300)
No employee shall be laid off or discharged for refusing to perform work in the performance of which this code, including Section 6400, any occupational safety or health standard or any safety order of the division or standards board will be violated, where the violation would create a real and apparent hazard to the employee or his or her fellow employees. Any employee who is laid off or discharged in violation of this section or is otherwise not paid because he or she refused to perform work in the performance of which this code, any occupational safety or health standard or any safety order of the division or standards board will be violated and where the violation would create a real and apparent hazard to the employee or his or her fellow employees shall have a right of action for wages for the time the employee is without work as a result of the layoff or discharge. (Labor Code Section 6311.)
No Comments