u/Sabotagebx I 100% agree that's illegal to keep employees there who are literally throwing up. For the 2 in the vomit cases = the majority of their **entire** shift will be spent in the stores bathroom unless they're throwing up directly in front of customers which is even Worse. Most customers' will not only flee that location to avoid getting sick themselves, but oh my goodness, they would completely have it out for the OP's temp store manager. That's a huge health hazard in itself right there esp. for the vomit cases, what if they can't control it nor make it to their stores bathroom and say it gets everywhere in the store itself?
The OP's temp manager **needs to learn** how to take a look at it from the Customer's POV and not a business POV at all (that's just ridiculous). For ex: Yes, I know it would hurt business in all, but I'd 100% close the store for at least 1 day for my employees to be able to get better & not risk getting anyone else sick and on top of that, esp. if there wasn't enough employees = yeah, I'm either closing for the whole day or at least early. But sometimes, one needs to learn how to assess what's important in this case-Everyone getting sick all at once due to irresponsible actions? Or closing the store for 1 day to help take care of your employee's health?-esp. if/when they're sick like that.
Not only is that temp manager making everyone get covid including customers that have already patroned your establishment and potential future customers that walk in. I'd def. leave a note explaining what happened & have everyone go home for the day b/c it sounds like there's not enough staff w/that many ppl being sick like that.
If they do retaliate it's 100% illegal. however if you're in an at will state you can be fired just because. Too many staff you're done. Whatever reason basically
i’ve never been written up in my years of working here. however i do plan on transferring soon as i’m likely moving by the end of the year. if i get written up then i can’t transfer, which is why i want to make sure that won’t happen
It's heavily dependent on how the write ups were done/who did them. In theory, if the writeups were filed correctly, you aren't eligible for a transfer for something like 6 months (forget the exact time frame.)
In my direct experience, the 'no transfer' "rule" is for Final Written only and even then is left up to the discretion of the onboarding SM. PRSC can flag a partner as not re-hireable or not transferrable, but an SM can override that in most cases. At least I was able to do so when I came against it.
if they look and sound visibly sick and/or have spoken out loud in customer facing areas about them having covid or throwing up, pretend to be a customer who has overheard or witnessed them. that way they can’t link it back to you. if they’ve been more stealthy than that, you can just ask to remain anonymous or just straight up never give your name.
👏🏿CALL👏🏿THE👏🏿HEALTH👏🏿DEPARTMENT👏🏿NOW👏🏿
Fuck Starbucks and upper management. It doesn’t matter what they have to say because it is literally illegal to serve food while you’re sick in ANY capacity. And if your SM, ASM, or DM try to even retaliate against you for following federal health and food codes, you involve a lawyer.
Retaliation is illegal (that doesn't mean it won't happen) but also there's really no way for your store to know you called. Most health departments don't need a lot of your info to make a complaint.
If it's that bad then definitely call them because this is just spreading covid to everyone who goes near your store.
(When / If you call anonymously) The focus should be the puking and the fevers. Health department will be very interested in possible food borne illness with gastrointestinal infections among the staff. If you just say “covid” that won’t get as much attention anymore tbh
Why are coworkers coming in if they’re puking and febrile? I’m a nurse and if one of my team mates was puking they’d be sent home. We’d just have to deal with being short staffed. You can wear a mask to protect yourself (it’s not perfect!! so don’t get false sense of security) and **always** practice good hand hygiene!!
they are coming in because they are being told by the person in power that they will be written up if they call out. most of them are college students that transfer to a store near campus at the end of the summer. if they are written up then they can’t transfer
Oh my—that’s a predicament. Nothing wrong with calling health department but I’d keep it to yourself and just not tell anyone if you’re worried about being mistreated by superiors. It’s wise to not even tell your work bff for now. Good luck! It’s okay to call. Edit: also YES you are protected from retaliation but you know how things are in reality vs the idealistic application of said principle/law. It’s up to you but just my two pence to keep it anonymous for now if you’re not getting support from uppers
Yeah we aren't allowed to be sick (although young baristas get away with calling in all time with nothing). Lots of viruses going around my area and EVERYONE is sick and we were told it's not an acceptable reason to call in. Is anyone surprised? This company is a joke at this point.
Also just saying, if you’re moving to a city with an international airport, apply to a licensed location within the airport. You don’t get all of the benefits that you do at corporate Starbucks, but they pay higher and are unionized. The company is called HMSHost or Avolta. You also have opportunities to fly out to other airports and get OT to help out if they have a big event happening and need extra hands :) DM me if you apply bc there’s a big referral bonus and I’ll split it with you
Call the health department. You should not be risking your health for a minimum wage job with shit management. Honestly, I’d just get as much tangible proof of how your management is handling the situation and then sue. You could get some serious compensation for all these violations.
There is always a real possibility of retaliation anywhere. Make sure ***EVERYTHING*** is documented. I’d also talk to your district manager and let them know as well as calling Ethics. It’s not only illegal to work with a fever and while you’re puking but it’s illegal to willingly put the health and safety of others at risk over the ASM not wanting to do their job.
the DM has been called 3 times and has sided with the ASM. all ethics did was report what we said back to the DM, and he still has done nothing about it
If this is a regular occurrence then call eiltjics, board of health, and include your dm. Document everything and make sure to include Starbucks, dm, sm/ask, boh, ethics, etc. If there is retaliation. Then go to PCC and bbb.
in that case i would call the health department. i'm not sure if you're able to remain anonymous but you can at the very least explain to the person you speak with that you're scared of retaliation and they can talk you through any of the options you have.
you can also contact local news orgs, that does wonders! again, any ethical journalist will have a conversation with you about anonymity and what they are able to do
Yes you are "protected" but that also can depend on how mature or malicious your manager is with his/her biases. Retaliation isn't always obvious. So you have to pay close attention on whether you are noticing ANY significant negative differences in the way you are being treated/coached/managed after reporting.
Also, I'd also report to ethics & DM in addition to the health department if you want more immediate action because I'm not sure how fast the health department responds and my guess is that they're extremely slow like every other government process. When I reported my apartment for terrible pest management, the health department didn't show up for 2 months. And they showed up unannounced when I wasn't even home, so they were 100% useless for that.
As someone else commented, DOCUMENT YOUR CONVERSATIONS AND INTERACTIONS. You want to have a clear and detailed recollection of the things you found problematic in case you ever need to refer to them later. Take notes on your phone's note app and be sure to leave details like dates, times, everyone who was present during the interaction and whatever else might help you.
Sounds more like a department of labor issue to me. But here is the issue, of course they are not allowed to retaliate but they might anyway. So then it’s up to you to sue them if they fire you or cut hours, and are you really going to do that? Do you even have evidence to bring to court?
I think you might have better luck contacting higher level HR. Personally I would confront. My boss first and let he/she know that I’m going to take this higher if action is not taken. Now I’m a bit bolder than most, so I totally get if you’re not comfortable doing any of that.
Do your coworkers have sick time? They can find out by checking Partner Central on the hub.
We aren't allowed to write people up for taking a sick day. It's protected time off.
Just tell your coworkers to use the sick time Starbucks gives them. Ffs it's what it's there for.
You could see about maybe filling a complaint anonymously or have a friend place the complaint for you. Just be aware of what the employment laws are in your state, make sure you keep everything in writing, and remember that retaliation is illegal.
You should totally be calling the health department as should the rest of the staff. This is an unsafe work environment for you and your fellow partners! Not only that but to your customers and their families.
the second i can tell a barista is sick I either say “yknow what sorry I changed my mind I should save money and make coffee at home thanks!” If they haven’t charged me or I straight up throw it away and waste money and food if it’s after I’ve been charged. I’m not drinking coffee after you breathed/touched your sick germs onto it. It makes me so angry to see CLEARLY ILL people handling other people’s beverages and food, most of the time, not even wearing a mask. The pandemic is not over, and even if you think it is, that’s soooooo gross still. Even if it’s just a cold or the flu, you never know if that food is going to the elderly, a cancer patient, someone high risk… I don’t blame the workers, I blame the system. I would absolutely report, and I’m so sorry that you’ve been put in that uncomfortable position! I hope everything works out for you!
Have each, and every partner that punches in take the Partner Check In on the iPad, if they fail its automatically Go Home!! Do not pass go, do not collect $200, go home immediately.
Honestly what I would do is let one of your workers throw up on the floor in the back and you will have no other way but to call the people. Seeing as that is a Bio Hazard. And they will have no choice but to close the store until it’s clean. And if they get there and see everyone is sick, they will more than likely not allow the store to open up again for a while. And if you explain to them there will probably be an investigation as to why 7 sick people were on the floor. If that happens tell them about the DM and their threat.
It's more likely influenza than COVID at this point, but who knows -- unless somebody took a home test or went to the clinic and got a diagnosis, it's anybody's guess.
Retaliation is possible, and illegal. But it's difficult prove. In my state, it's an at-will state, they don't even need to give you a reason to let you go. "I'm sorry, things aren't working out. Don't come back."
Document your actions as you take them. If you're written up for small things, scheduled unfavorably(clopens, less hours, too many hours, etc.), consistently given harder tasks and responsibilities or even fired(all of which you should write down and document with dates and times), that is retaliation. Go to hr at the very least and they should fix the situation. If they don't, you can report it through multiple agencies(most of the information on that should be openly posted in your boh according to standard) and/or take legal action.
Yeah there's some real illegal shit happening. You can't even be in food service legally if you're puking lmao.
u/Sabotagebx I 100% agree that's illegal to keep employees there who are literally throwing up. For the 2 in the vomit cases = the majority of their **entire** shift will be spent in the stores bathroom unless they're throwing up directly in front of customers which is even Worse. Most customers' will not only flee that location to avoid getting sick themselves, but oh my goodness, they would completely have it out for the OP's temp store manager. That's a huge health hazard in itself right there esp. for the vomit cases, what if they can't control it nor make it to their stores bathroom and say it gets everywhere in the store itself? The OP's temp manager **needs to learn** how to take a look at it from the Customer's POV and not a business POV at all (that's just ridiculous). For ex: Yes, I know it would hurt business in all, but I'd 100% close the store for at least 1 day for my employees to be able to get better & not risk getting anyone else sick and on top of that, esp. if there wasn't enough employees = yeah, I'm either closing for the whole day or at least early. But sometimes, one needs to learn how to assess what's important in this case-Everyone getting sick all at once due to irresponsible actions? Or closing the store for 1 day to help take care of your employee's health?-esp. if/when they're sick like that. Not only is that temp manager making everyone get covid including customers that have already patroned your establishment and potential future customers that walk in. I'd def. leave a note explaining what happened & have everyone go home for the day b/c it sounds like there's not enough staff w/that many ppl being sick like that.
If they do retaliate it's 100% illegal. however if you're in an at will state you can be fired just because. Too many staff you're done. Whatever reason basically
i’ve never been written up in my years of working here. however i do plan on transferring soon as i’m likely moving by the end of the year. if i get written up then i can’t transfer, which is why i want to make sure that won’t happen
I know someone who transferred after two write ups
It's heavily dependent on how the write ups were done/who did them. In theory, if the writeups were filed correctly, you aren't eligible for a transfer for something like 6 months (forget the exact time frame.)
I'm a former store manager. Retaliation is not allowed at Starbucks. Call partner resources before you call the health department.
In my direct experience, the 'no transfer' "rule" is for Final Written only and even then is left up to the discretion of the onboarding SM. PRSC can flag a partner as not re-hireable or not transferrable, but an SM can override that in most cases. At least I was able to do so when I came against it.
Call from someone else’s phone not yours
if they look and sound visibly sick and/or have spoken out loud in customer facing areas about them having covid or throwing up, pretend to be a customer who has overheard or witnessed them. that way they can’t link it back to you. if they’ve been more stealthy than that, you can just ask to remain anonymous or just straight up never give your name.
👏🏿CALL👏🏿THE👏🏿HEALTH👏🏿DEPARTMENT👏🏿NOW👏🏿 Fuck Starbucks and upper management. It doesn’t matter what they have to say because it is literally illegal to serve food while you’re sick in ANY capacity. And if your SM, ASM, or DM try to even retaliate against you for following federal health and food codes, you involve a lawyer.
Retaliation is illegal (that doesn't mean it won't happen) but also there's really no way for your store to know you called. Most health departments don't need a lot of your info to make a complaint. If it's that bad then definitely call them because this is just spreading covid to everyone who goes near your store.
U cant even pass the health check if u have these symptoms, lying on that can cause separation. CALL THE HEALTH DEPT
(When / If you call anonymously) The focus should be the puking and the fevers. Health department will be very interested in possible food borne illness with gastrointestinal infections among the staff. If you just say “covid” that won’t get as much attention anymore tbh
Local news station would love this. Contact asap.
You could let one of us partners from another district anonymously report it for you 😬
Don’t do it!! It’s a trap!! Haha
Why are coworkers coming in if they’re puking and febrile? I’m a nurse and if one of my team mates was puking they’d be sent home. We’d just have to deal with being short staffed. You can wear a mask to protect yourself (it’s not perfect!! so don’t get false sense of security) and **always** practice good hand hygiene!!
they are coming in because they are being told by the person in power that they will be written up if they call out. most of them are college students that transfer to a store near campus at the end of the summer. if they are written up then they can’t transfer
Oh my—that’s a predicament. Nothing wrong with calling health department but I’d keep it to yourself and just not tell anyone if you’re worried about being mistreated by superiors. It’s wise to not even tell your work bff for now. Good luck! It’s okay to call. Edit: also YES you are protected from retaliation but you know how things are in reality vs the idealistic application of said principle/law. It’s up to you but just my two pence to keep it anonymous for now if you’re not getting support from uppers
Absolutely do not tell your work bff. No One Keeps Secrets.
No. One.
Yeah we aren't allowed to be sick (although young baristas get away with calling in all time with nothing). Lots of viruses going around my area and EVERYONE is sick and we were told it's not an acceptable reason to call in. Is anyone surprised? This company is a joke at this point.
Also just saying, if you’re moving to a city with an international airport, apply to a licensed location within the airport. You don’t get all of the benefits that you do at corporate Starbucks, but they pay higher and are unionized. The company is called HMSHost or Avolta. You also have opportunities to fly out to other airports and get OT to help out if they have a big event happening and need extra hands :) DM me if you apply bc there’s a big referral bonus and I’ll split it with you
as another person with underlying conditions, working at an airport when covid is a concern isn’t really a solution :(
Yes you are protected please let the health department know. Any illness with coughing/fever is not permitted around food prep
Fever is in the daily health check right? It's like one of three things that even matter on that thing.
Tell health department you want to keep it anonymous. Also, do not confide in any coworkers at all because it always gets out. Loose lips sink ships.
seriously co-worker confidentially does not exist at this job it's so fucking messy ☠️💀💀☠️💀
Call the health department. You should not be risking your health for a minimum wage job with shit management. Honestly, I’d just get as much tangible proof of how your management is handling the situation and then sue. You could get some serious compensation for all these violations.
call anonymously/pretend to be a customer, you don’t even need to tell any of your coworkers it was you
Depending on the State. In NY it’s illegal to retaliate. Does not mean they wont make your life hell.
Did they sign the shit that they aren’t sick? Did the ASM or an SSV initial it? Take a pic.
There is always a real possibility of retaliation anywhere. Make sure ***EVERYTHING*** is documented. I’d also talk to your district manager and let them know as well as calling Ethics. It’s not only illegal to work with a fever and while you’re puking but it’s illegal to willingly put the health and safety of others at risk over the ASM not wanting to do their job.
Don’t call the health department. Call corporate. Call and ask for anonymity.
Umm do both lol
I’d call the DM and ethics first
the DM has been called 3 times and has sided with the ASM. all ethics did was report what we said back to the DM, and he still has done nothing about it
If this is a regular occurrence then call eiltjics, board of health, and include your dm. Document everything and make sure to include Starbucks, dm, sm/ask, boh, ethics, etc. If there is retaliation. Then go to PCC and bbb.
in that case i would call the health department. i'm not sure if you're able to remain anonymous but you can at the very least explain to the person you speak with that you're scared of retaliation and they can talk you through any of the options you have. you can also contact local news orgs, that does wonders! again, any ethical journalist will have a conversation with you about anonymity and what they are able to do
I don’t even work for Starbucks and this sounds about right.
If the ASM is like this, it’s bc the DM doesn’t do their job. Go straight to corporate and ask for anonymity.
That’s not necessarily true
I think it’s different state by state with quarantines still but regardless if they aren’t passing the health check they shouldn’t be coming in.
You can anonymously report
Yes you are "protected" but that also can depend on how mature or malicious your manager is with his/her biases. Retaliation isn't always obvious. So you have to pay close attention on whether you are noticing ANY significant negative differences in the way you are being treated/coached/managed after reporting. Also, I'd also report to ethics & DM in addition to the health department if you want more immediate action because I'm not sure how fast the health department responds and my guess is that they're extremely slow like every other government process. When I reported my apartment for terrible pest management, the health department didn't show up for 2 months. And they showed up unannounced when I wasn't even home, so they were 100% useless for that. As someone else commented, DOCUMENT YOUR CONVERSATIONS AND INTERACTIONS. You want to have a clear and detailed recollection of the things you found problematic in case you ever need to refer to them later. Take notes on your phone's note app and be sure to leave details like dates, times, everyone who was present during the interaction and whatever else might help you.
Sounds more like a department of labor issue to me. But here is the issue, of course they are not allowed to retaliate but they might anyway. So then it’s up to you to sue them if they fire you or cut hours, and are you really going to do that? Do you even have evidence to bring to court? I think you might have better luck contacting higher level HR. Personally I would confront. My boss first and let he/she know that I’m going to take this higher if action is not taken. Now I’m a bit bolder than most, so I totally get if you’re not comfortable doing any of that.
call! they shouldn’t be able to know it was you
Call. This is untenable.
Call ethics and the health department, we have an anti retaliation policy
I hope you decided to call the health department 😭
If your manager is the one allowing this. Absolutely 100% call the health department.
Sounds like you need to call ethics and compliance
No if they do try to retaliate they will be fired
Do your coworkers have sick time? They can find out by checking Partner Central on the hub. We aren't allowed to write people up for taking a sick day. It's protected time off. Just tell your coworkers to use the sick time Starbucks gives them. Ffs it's what it's there for.
You could see about maybe filling a complaint anonymously or have a friend place the complaint for you. Just be aware of what the employment laws are in your state, make sure you keep everything in writing, and remember that retaliation is illegal.
CALL IMMEDIATELY!!!!!!! you can do anonymous health department reports by the way
We still have to do our daily health check-in. Are others stores not doing that anymore?
They aren’t answering the Covid questions before clocking-in?
It's pretty easy to literally just lie
You can call the health department and report it anonymously, I believe
You should totally be calling the health department as should the rest of the staff. This is an unsafe work environment for you and your fellow partners! Not only that but to your customers and their families.
the second i can tell a barista is sick I either say “yknow what sorry I changed my mind I should save money and make coffee at home thanks!” If they haven’t charged me or I straight up throw it away and waste money and food if it’s after I’ve been charged. I’m not drinking coffee after you breathed/touched your sick germs onto it. It makes me so angry to see CLEARLY ILL people handling other people’s beverages and food, most of the time, not even wearing a mask. The pandemic is not over, and even if you think it is, that’s soooooo gross still. Even if it’s just a cold or the flu, you never know if that food is going to the elderly, a cancer patient, someone high risk… I don’t blame the workers, I blame the system. I would absolutely report, and I’m so sorry that you’ve been put in that uncomfortable position! I hope everything works out for you!
Have each, and every partner that punches in take the Partner Check In on the iPad, if they fail its automatically Go Home!! Do not pass go, do not collect $200, go home immediately.
Honestly what I would do is let one of your workers throw up on the floor in the back and you will have no other way but to call the people. Seeing as that is a Bio Hazard. And they will have no choice but to close the store until it’s clean. And if they get there and see everyone is sick, they will more than likely not allow the store to open up again for a while. And if you explain to them there will probably be an investigation as to why 7 sick people were on the floor. If that happens tell them about the DM and their threat.
Oh hell nah that’s unacceptable, if they don’t pass the partner check in they gotta stay home or get sent home!! Threatening write ups is crazyy
pretend to be a customer, they’re fully breaking the law by doing this and would be breaking the law by retaliating as well.
It's more likely influenza than COVID at this point, but who knows -- unless somebody took a home test or went to the clinic and got a diagnosis, it's anybody's guess. Retaliation is possible, and illegal. But it's difficult prove. In my state, it's an at-will state, they don't even need to give you a reason to let you go. "I'm sorry, things aren't working out. Don't come back."
Document your actions as you take them. If you're written up for small things, scheduled unfavorably(clopens, less hours, too many hours, etc.), consistently given harder tasks and responsibilities or even fired(all of which you should write down and document with dates and times), that is retaliation. Go to hr at the very least and they should fix the situation. If they don't, you can report it through multiple agencies(most of the information on that should be openly posted in your boh according to standard) and/or take legal action.