I recently read an article about several employees quitting their job at a fast food restaurant after being forced to work for almost two months without air conditioning. I personally could not imagine going to work, in a uniform that is most likely pants, working around hot grills and fryers and being expected to continue working. The article stated that the outside temperatures were in the 90’s everyday while the air conditioning was off. This put the employees at risk for heat related illnesses such as heat stroke and heat exhaustion. I remember when I first started teaching at my school, the air conditioner barely worked in the first classroom they assigned me to. I was teaching in August in the south, where temperatures were in the 100’s with high humidity. The air conditioning would only come on for about five minutes an hour and then came on constantly when the school day was over. I also could not open the windows. I brought the complaint to my principal’s secretary and she immediately offered for me to temporarily move classrooms until the school district’s HVAC professionals could fix the issue. If I was forced to stay in that hot classroom, that would have been unsafe for both myself and my students. It is unfair for employees to be forced into working in dangerous conditions without air conditioning. If the manager of the business is not able to fix the air conditioning problem themselves, they should call an HVAC company immediately to fix it. If for some reason there is a delay in the HVAC company coming out, the business should temporarily close until everything is fixed. It is not worth potentially risking an employee’s life.
digital thermostat