There has been a full blown fly infestation at my job (foodservice, it’s all prepackaged food but still gross) since at least February 2022. It’s so bad to the point where most of us employees don’t use the break room because we can’t eat back there without flies swarming in our faces, and i have to literally close the store to go use the bathroom at the cafe next door because there are flies swarming around in the bathroom and toilet.
Upper management refuses to do anything about it, she won’t even buy us cheap fly traps or raid. Me and another coworker have made complaints about it multiple times to our manager, even sent videos and pictures to him showing how bad it is. Our manager says he has talked to our general manager multiple times. The only time our general manager claimed she was going to call an exterminator was after a customer left a negative review (not after we, the employees had our manager tell her at least 5 times). And then she never did. She never called an exterminator. To clarify, our GM is the one with the power to hire an exterminator, I guess our manager isn’t allowed to or something.
Our GM has proven time after time to be useless, she never answers her phone, is supposed to come into the store multiple times a month and never does, apparently according to our manager every time they’re supposed to have a zoom meeting she cancels 15 mins before… like when I tell you she’s useless I mean she’s useless. She also thinks we shouldn’t be allowed to have chairs in the store and should have to stand the entire shift. She makes so much more than us and keeps her role because she’s friends with the CEOs (it’s a B corp).
So anyways this issue has been going on for months now. About a month and a half ago I called and made a report to OSHA (in california) about the infestation. We received a letter at the store, but neither my manager nor GM ever opened it. In the letter, it stated that if they didn’t get the fly problem taken care of and send proof of this within 13 days, someone from osha would come by unannounced and investigate for themselves. It’s been at least a month since the letter arrived here. I have no idea if anyone from osha ever came by, and if they did I worry they came by on a day where the flies weren’t as bad (they come and go, because it’s cyclical like they lay eggs, hatch, it’s really bad, then they die etc). The flies have been a bit better for the last month and a half but i still am uncomfortable eating on my break in the back and using the bathroom here. They are starting to get bad again and im just so pissed off.
Is there any way I can report our specific GM? Is there any way to get her in trouble? Because honestly this is her responsibility and her fault for not taking care of. She’s horrible and needs to face consequences for neglecting her employees that she claims to care about. None of us have any power in this situation not even my manager. I don’t want my manager to get in trouble because he’s really nice and is overworked and taken advantage of by upper management as well. It’s also not under his jurisdiction to hire an extermination. Should I call OSHA again? Idk what to do HELP
Edit: When I looked it up online before calling, apparently CalOSHA has stricter rules than other states and considers infestations a safety hazard to workers (maybe I’m wrong about this lol but that’s what it said when I looked it up)To everyone suggesting calling the health department though thank you I’ll do that right now!