So been dealing with some issues here in California, USA. I work at a national pool chain and have been having a large amount off issues here and need to get some perspective and advice.
First the AC hasn't worked in 3 weeks. It is over 100 degrees here every day. That alone is a huge issue for me, but it's also a huge safety issue. We have 2 pallets of liquid chlorine in the back that are exploding from the heat and leaking onto the ground and running towards other product. Most everything is off the ground so the risk of it mixing with other chemicals is minimal, but it is leaking constantly. This has been going on for over 2 weeks. We've had issues with the building before too, as it took a out 2 weeks for them to fix the toilet that was backing up and spilling feces on the floor that I had to clean up every morning.
The bigger issue I'm needing advice on is that we donr get breaks at all. Like no 15 minute breaks since I've started here. Now they're cutting down to 2 people per store so I'll be expected to work 11 hours straight with no breaks or lunches. They said it's legal since they pay a meal premium, but I'm pretty unconvinced. The labor code as I understand it says you have to schedule meal breaks off the clock at the very minimum.
I'm not really in a position to quit outright, but is there much of an option besides waiting for them to violate the lunch break rules and then report them to the labor board?