I know antiwork will get me biased answers but I’m really hoping to get some info on my rights in this situation.
I started a job 2 months ago with a national park non-profit that also handles bookstore sales. Within a week of working there, a ton of products were delivered to our visitor center from a place nearby that they call “the barn”. I became so violently ill that day that I had to go home. I believe I have some sort of allergic reaction to the stuff. It is probably stored in a place with water damage and mold and I have known mold sensitivities.
I explained to my supervisor that I had severe allergies to the stuff stored in this location. He assured me we could work around it.
A week passed, and product was still making me sick, so I notified HR. They were only somewhat understanding. After that I was told “we are never using the barn again… only a few things are left in there…”
Two months later I am still having reactions to this stuff. My boss throws it all together in his car and so when it’s delivered the “clean” product still makes me sick. It has gotten to a point where I am afraid to touch anything because I never know what will trigger a reaction.
I had a panic attack and breakdown on my way to work this morning and told him I can’t come in. I have tried everything to work with them, I wear an n95 mask and take an antihistamine before every shift, it still doesn’t always help me. I am at the point where I want to refuse to work until they remove all items that were stored in the barn from the bookstore and condemn the building.
I also found out form a ranger this morning that the previous bookstore employee (who now works for the park) was fighting with management about this for years saying the building was a health concern for a lot of reasons including hantavirus.
What should I do?
EDIT to add that I was told “maintenance checked the shed and saw no evidence of mold” but I don’t know if this is true