So to preface this i work at a chain restaurant and recently went to HR. I went to the hospital because of a self inflicted injury (at home off the clock) and another cook found out I was in the hospital and said it was karma and that i deserved it, he didnt know the reasoning for my visit but to say that about someone in any situation was uncalled for and just hurtful. I contacted HR and someone else lied about the situation to keep him from being fired. This happened about a month ago.
FF to today. during the last 3 hours of service our hand washing sinks no longer produced hot water and I refused to cook as it would be against Indiana Health code. Hand sinks must provide hot water to at least 100 degrees fahrenheit. I was told to go home while other were allowed to stay and prepare food and their justification was that they had hand sanitizer. I couldnt find anywhere stating that this was a solution to hand washing. I asked to see this bylaw/health code and they refused and sent me home anyways. Should i get a labor lawyer involved if they fire me tomorrow?
My states board of health says that hands must be washed after touched raw product, between glove changes, and every thirty minutes unless I am mistaken or the codes have changed. As a lifelong cook I have principals to uphold for either religious purposes or to simply make sure the people eating my food do not contract any foodborne illnesses.
Ive contacted the board of health and osha about this violations already. This seems incredibly discriminatory to me because of my spat with HR and the fact that I was the only cook sent home because of this. What should I do?
Edit: circumstances of injury and description of video i captured
I have not been fired yet but I am hoping that if my employment is terminated the day after filing complaints with osha and board of health it might be in my favor.
I have a video that shows no faces but states that I am still doing my job, i am cleaning up my station.
I was told to go home or the police would be called
I said to clarify I am being sent home because I refuse to violate health code
i was told that im not doing my job im not making food
i said I am not making food i need to go home im not doing my job
i said to be clear i cannot properly wash my hands and cannot serve food and i am being sent home because of this
my manager states we know the laws this is what i was told to do
i stated ok i will go home but youll be hearing from my lawyer
I can post this if people would like to see but this about sums it up