A woman that works in my cubicle called in yesterday but at work today. Boss said this morning at

[LizBeth]

pre work meeting to be sure to wear masks in common areas, that illness going around. I asked, "Covid? I need to be more diligent if so.". He said, act as if, but they did not know. I specifically and clearly told him, give me a heads up if covid. He acknowledged he would. The gal that was sick came in late and never faced me, all the while toward her computer, away from me. I put my mask on. (Not wearing when in our space so we can be heard on phones). Afternoon I get my afternoon coffee, and take mask off, look at co worker and she is masked. I drink coffee, then mask up again. Finally I ask her what sick she had. Her friend in another office across the way tested positive around 2 this afternoon about when my coworker put the mask on. This is a couple hours later I ask about illness having her call out yesterday. She is looking flushed. Boss will not let her go home. She gets tested tomorrow morning. She and her daughter were sick all weekend and coworker said only an upset stomach now though she looked flushed to me. In a little space, but now she is masked. My boss said nothing, though he was well aware.

I am a little bit pissed. Covid looks different on a 60 yr old smoker than these kids I am around.

[mahina]

1. Holy crap. I would high tail it home and call in sick till I could get tested.

Or anything to get out of there. Good luck to all.

[LizBeth]

4. +1, At home now drinking a glass of wine or two.

[ret5hd]

2. I'd start probing for a good lawyer.

[LizBeth]

3. My son is not far from getting his law degree and working with a bunch of lawyers. I was thinkin....

Lol.

Such a smarmy boss. Like I have never seen.

[Hugh_Lebowski]

5. That sucks, but one shouldn't count on one's boss blabbing about their co-workers health

He might've said he would, but really it's a pretty big no-no as an manager/employer.

Take care of yourself in any case

[LizBeth]

9. I would think him stating flatly he would give me a heads up in front of five other people would

hold him to it.

[Hugh_Lebowski]

12. I understand your expectation in the situation ...

But you'd be smart to not expect it, no matter what a boss says.

It's really not something they're supposed to do, just saying.

[LizBeth]

14. I put on my mask when the sick yesterday woman came into cubicle. I am gullible, I am. I trust

people but there were enough clues not to trust this man.

[ret5hd]

16. Boss doesn't have to blab anything...the boss has to ORDER...

to the point of firing if necessary, that the possibly infected DO NOT COME TO THE OFFICE. PERIOD!

[LizBeth]

17. +1. Instead of telling the person, once test proved positive, send them home and out of my cubicle.

[emmaverybo]

50. Yes! No rules in place. Should have to get tested before returning to work or quarantine or

work separately or SOMETHING.

[wnylib]

27. It's also a big no-no to make someone stay at work around other employees

during a pandemic if that person has been exposed to the pandemic disease.

[LizBeth]

28. +1

[Deuxcents]

6. Making people come to work sick

In a pandemic n then not being straight up honest about it..nothing good can come from that. Your Boss is failing you n everyone else. Maybe a mass exodus until you get some answers.

[LizBeth]

10. I saw that two weeks in and have had interviews the last couple weeks. I have high hopes

from an interview yesterday. Certainly can't trust the ass to be on my side, for sure but saw it early on.

[sarcasmo]

7. You have every right to be pissed.

[LizBeth]

11. Ty, I thought so. Lol. Thanks.

[FakeNoose]

8. Please don't take any chances

Be honest with your boss. Stay home and tell him the reason why.

For all you know, your boss may be exposed too. But at least he'll understand if you have to stay home for a few days. Maybe there's work you can do from home?

[LizBeth]

13. It is a call center and all can be done from home but he made a sick young woman stay the afternoon

when we did not need her, knowing she probably has covid and was being tested in the morning, not allowing her to take the rest of the day off. He is not the type of boss that will work with us.

[femmedem]

15. I'm no lawyer but I think your legal case would come from his denying her the right to go home.

Even if she doesn't have covid, she should be able to go home when she's sick even if the employer can't tell people anyone's diagnosis.
I would look into calling OSHA or your local health inspector.

I so hope you will be ok.

[Demobrat]

19. What the hell is wrong with these petty tyrants?

Told a sick employee to stay at work? Why? Because he could?

It would serve him right if he got sick.

[LizBeth]

29. +1

[brer cat]

18. Other than working with Typhoid Mary in your cubicle,

how is the new job going? I saw upthread that you are looking for something different. Good luck with that because your boss doesn't sound like a long-term prospect.

[LizBeth]

31. So lmao, you make me laugh. I get paid well, for me. It covers total monthly expense and then some.

They have no qualms with time and half and I use it like I have never done before. Want me early, I am there, work late ok, you pay. I take care of a lot of people. Some angry people because call center, but also I can resolve lots of problems and have fin with people on the way, so that is satisfying to me. Turns me on, flips my switch, floats my boat. But... I cannot work with a boss like this that from the start has showed me I cannot trust him, ergo respect him, in so many ways so yes. I am looking for another job to settle in. This allows me to have a base pay though to insist on with another job.

[MiniMe]

20. I would think it could be a HIPPA violation if your boss told you what her medical status was

Stay healthy!

[LizBeth]

32. Maybe but then I think putting her in my space forgoes the HIPPA issue.

[vanlassie]

42. I would contact your county health department tomorrow.

[NJCher]

45. this is what you should do

the man is a public menace.

I mean, we're only talking about your life here.

[RobinA]

55. HIPPA

gets picked around a lot in this COVID world. We were informed at work that it was against HIPPA to ask a coworker if they are vaccinated. Uh...no.

[LizBeth]

56. +1

[marble falls]

21. Out of my liitle painting class, I had a student die from Covid two weeks ago. She had one shot ...

... since then I found out only one was vaxxed. A husband of one of my students has Covid and is taking the horse wormer cure.

We talked about Covid and the importance of vaxxing and masks.

In the last year and a half, we tried opening a total of about 8 weeks over the last year, but in July gave up in the face of delta.

They wore masks, gloves and we covered tables with an out of the bag plastic covering, sanitizing the table before and after. We distanced six feet.

And we talked about all the dumb reason people have about vaxxing. and the net is: one only was vaxxed, I have had these students for the last five years (we met once a week).

I'm pretty disgusted. The woman from whom I bought 12 very nice full masks, three layers of high quality quilting fabric - thin threads, tightly woven with a pocket for a paper filter and adjustable and comfortable ear straps. She made some with fabric I space dyed and tie dyed.

She's been sick with Covid for three weeks.

[LizBeth]

33. +1. I do not want to play the game. I hear you. Exhausting.

[marble falls]

40. Exausting and turning me into an untrusting person.

[LizBeth]

41. +1

[NJCher]

47. I would be tremendously disappointed

with these people, too.

Amazing that they talked about it with you and then only one was vaccinated. I can totally believe it, though, as I am a teacher, too.

[MiniMe]

58. I don't trust anybody these days about being vacc'd

It is sad, and I don't want to be "that person". But the anti-vaxxers leave me no choice.

[marble falls]

63. I absolutely trust no one about their vax status, not my friends, not the shit kickers: no one.

... I have friends in Ohio that claim there is no vaccine available close to them. I don't argue but I am talking to them by long distance til we get this nut cracked.

[orleans]

22. i think the time frame from being exposed to getting a test is 3-5 days

please make sure you get tested

you can buy those quickie tests at walgreens and there are places around where you live that have the regular tests.

as far as your boss--what a douche! i remember hearing about places that closed for a day or two when they thought there was covid afoot.

can you take a few days off? tell them it's a family emergency? and you'd rather not say exactly what is happening.

wishing you the very best

[LizBeth]

34. I think the woman will probably not be there tomorrow and I work for a place that does ALL the

testing for our town. Maybe I will go in tomorrow and tell my boss since I was exposed to this worker, they need to give me a free test since they are now charging people.

[marble falls]

46. My neighbor called me to get a test for him that I got from Walgreen. It said he positive ...

... I thought he'd been vaxxed, he was good about masking. I figured it was a false positive or a weak infection. He wasn't vaxxed. They gave him the infusion and sent him home. But the ER doctors and nurses looked at the kit ans said it was one of the best they'd seen from a pharmacy.

We think I had Covid and spent a week in the hospital November 2019 and I had my vax about four months prior before he called me, but because I was exposed to Covid 12 days before, my last biopsy (clear!) was put off for two more weeks and I had to be tested (clear).

I live in Crazy, USA.

[keithbvadu2]

23. Which is more important to the boss? Work output or healthy work environment?

Which is more important to the boss? Work output or healthy work environment?

Pretty much a rhetorical question.

[LizBeth]

36. For sure. And that was what is very clear from his decision this afternoon.

[meadowlander]

44. Apparently neither

since a workplace full of people with Covid isn't going to be outputting much of anything except more Covid.

[localroger]

26. There are still other illnesses out there

I had a very annoying stomach flu last month, came and went so I was never sure when I might need to throw up. But the onset and timing was all wrong for COVID and besides, I'm not only double vaxxed I'm pretty sure I had COVID back when you couldn't get a test but I had relatively "minor" symptom (horrible joint pain, it wasn't publicly known yet that COVID did that). The actual flu is still a thing and its presentation is different.

Anyway disease is disease and going to work when you are sick is rude as hell even when not in a pandemic. One of my coworkers brought home an actual non-COVID regular flu that I caught from his grade school kids with him as a vector because he just had to come to work for a few hours after he realized they had brought it home from their school.

Just don't do this shit people. If you are sick stay at home, and if your employer tells you to come in anyway, shoot them. The world will be a better place.

[LizBeth]

37. +1

[Ziggysmom]

30. Disgusting. We deserve better than this.

Americans are some of the only workers in the developed world who can get fired if they don’t drag their sick butts into work. I hope you stay healthy and can find a position where you are safe and appreciated.

I'm fortunate I can work from home as a computer analyst, and my employer promotes it. Many of my friends do work which can be easily be performed 100% from home, but their employers still demand they come into the office. Some bosses act as if they don't trust their employees or have a need to watch and control them. And employers wonder why so many job positions are going unfilled??

[wnylib]

35. Yes, anyone coming in to work sick

whether it's covid or not is not just rude, but a health hazzard.

Long before covid, I worked at a place that pressured people to come in to work even if sick. One employee had viral bronchitis but kept coming to work and did not go to a doctor. She insisted that it was just a "bad cold." I caught viral bronchitis from her 4 times that winter. After each Z Pak "cure," I would be sick again in a week.

I finally asked my doctor to fill out FMLA forms for me to take two weeks off to get completely well. I told HR why it was necessary and they finally told the other employee to either get treatment or stay home.

[LizBeth]

39. +1

[NJCher]

48. that is an absolute disgrace

such shortsighted policies actually cost more in the long term.

And as far as not trusting workers unless they come into the office, that has to go. To me, it seems insulting to my sense of professionalism and my desire to get the job done to doubt whether I'm actually working from home.

[wnylib]

49. The bronchitis was only the first part

of the problem. After getting it 4 times in a couple months, I developed a muscle inflammation as an aftermath. It's a disorder that follows viral infections for people age 60 and over, women more often than men, and a certain ethnic demographic.

It was debilitating. I lost range of motion in my arms and was in chronic, serious pain. Could not go up steps, not even up a curb when crossing a street without excruciating pain. It was made worse by a PA who misdiagnosed it as "mild" arthritis and did not believe the degree of pain I was in so it went on for months.

Fortunately, another PA figured it out from my age, ethnicity, and recent multiple bouts of viral bronchitis. She put me on Prednisone, the only med that works for it. Took two years of gradually reducing the dose and exercises from a rheumatologist before I finally got back to normal. But I still have to be careful about not overusing muscles.

All because a selfish coworker refused to get treatment and kept infecting me, plus an employer whose attendance policy was draconian.

[NJCher]

51. I can believe it

I had a similar but not as bad experience. If have to take care of myself or it comes back on me. Like get the proper amount of rest, etc.

The range of motion and joint pain must have been very difficult. After all, movement is basic to functioning in our lives.

After reading your post and this thread in general, I am so glad I can do my work without being around people. It is horrendous how backwards some employers are.

[wnylib]

60. I'm just glad that I was already retired

by the time that covid hit.

The limit to range of motion in my arms prevented me from raising them overhead. I could only lift them as high as my chest in front and could not reach them behind me. I had to lift each leg with one hand in order to put on slacks. I literally cried before I had to stand up from a sitting position because I knew that it would hurt. Getting out of bed in the morning was a chore.

But I have full range of motion again, can sit, stand, and even go up a staircase as long as it isn't a long one. I just have to be careful not to overdo it in lifting and walking or they hurt again for a few hours.

[LizBeth]

38. Month and half into this job why I am looking for another job. Exactly this. I do not want to be

long term with this type of employer, and not only this instance. They are obvious, and this is just one example.

[meadowlander]

43. Not that it makes any difference at all

to how big of a jag off your boss was being or what precautions you should probably take but if it eases your mind at all my face gets super flushed when I wear a mask because of the hot breath escaping from the side of it so potentially that's what it was instead of a Covid fever.

Hoping for the best for you and your coworker.

[Hekate]

52. Can I hope she had a personal convo with the boss, in his office, maskless? Please?

Definitely should do it tomorrow morning.

My gods. I hope you find another job soon.

[LizBeth]

54. I had a message last night a third place call for an interview. So I am hoping. It is really hard

though outside my town, working 8 and half hours with half hour lunch smack in middle of work day to do these interviews. The first two worked with me. Hopefully this place will find a way. Last one did a video interview at 5:30 in the evening. Getting paranoid and untrusting, I think they do something with phones that we can't send emails and get messages until off property. I sent 4 emails to accept an interview Monday and none would go thru. Finally called the woman and told her I would be there for the interview. She told me later that all four arrived at once, at 5:10, when I had driven off the property.

[Chinama]

53. Easy Fix!

Get vaccinated!!!!! Then you don't have to worry!

[Liberal In Texas]

59. You can still get infected if your vaccinated.

Personally, I would rather not get infected even though I've had 3 vaccinations.

Infected people can still spread the virus without symptoms.

Infected people can still get sick, although usually not as bad and the unvaccinated.

Have you never heard these facts?

[madville]

61. We are going to be living with new COVID variants and updated vaccines for years

Maybe even decades. Some variants will be weaker, some may be stronger. I don't know anyone that has never had a cold or the regular flu, eventually everyone will have had COVID multiple times whether they know it or not. COVID will be thought of as just another common illness we live with since there's really no practical way to keep the vaccine updated to new variants as the emerge and spread.

Since August we've had 5 vaccinated people out at work at different times with most likely the Delta variant. We only test people if they self-report symptoms, no one gets tested just because they were in close contact with someone who eventually tests positive. More than likely we've had more vaccinated people that were infected but were asymptomatic so never tested.

[Liberal In Texas]

62. I'm hoping for this universal-will-cover-every-variant vaccine that I've heard is being developed.

If it doesn't happen, I'll keep getting boosters every time one is recommended.

[BradAllison]

57. Your boss and co-worker are playing fucking games n/m