Legal Question in Workers Comp in California
my question is . i am working for a big call center and they started to do construction in the building. like painting by us and replacing carpet. The smell is really bad. Alot of people are going home because they are getting sick, but the company said without pay. Some people financially cannot do that, so they are subject to this. We are in an enclosed place and because of security reasons we cannot open doors at night and windows dont. i' open. We don't have any fans going on, it is bad, symptoms people are getting are dizziness, numb feeling in face. sore throat eyes watering. One ladys nose bled. ANything we can do? We called osha they sent a letter to company with 14 days to comply and they have to post the letter they got so everyone can see. They have not done that. Worst of all we are a union shop. I and many others filed griveances with union but they won;t remedy the situation. they said leave or don't come in. That is not fair. They should scedule the construction when workers are not in. 230am-5am. Worst they provided us with surgical masks if we want them. Osha said wrong kind of masks when your dealing with fumes. Anything we can do? 700 employees affected
1 Answer from Attorneys
The people getting sick clearly are entitled to Workers' Compensation benefits. If they are off work less than 4 days, they have to wait 21 days to be paid. There are several things that could be done, including:
1) have everyone file a WC work injury report
2) Have the Union Rep point out to management that their behavior seems to be wilth reckless disregard to the health of the employees so allows for increased WC benefits
3) contact COSHA and federal OSHA pointing out management is endangering the health of 700 people, ignoring apparently being told to remedy the situation
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