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(This could be one question or two questions, but I put them all in one post, because they are related. Also, there are a lot of things going on in the situation, and my essay might have left out relevant details. If necessary, please tell me what details I did not specify.)
Been working at Home Depot as a Lot Attendant for over two years.
July 2021, a day laborer waved me over to pick up the cart that he had been sitting on. While I was bent over trying to pick up the cart, he had the nerve to feign a kick at me, and then he was like "amigo" and *thumbs up*. However, I did not tattle on him (although maybe I should have), because I was afraid that if I did, all the day laborers would have physically injured me when I left work. (The Home Depot is in the middle of a homeless encampment, and it appears like a dangerous location, with inadequate witnesses or supervision.)
_______________________________________________________________
Between November 2021 and March 2022, five different days, someone reached under the toilet partition and stomped on my foot with his paw. The first time, I screamed, and he burst out laughing like it was the funniest thing in the world. The other times, I did not react. However, I have been totally afraid that someone might crawl under the door and rape me. (Between 24 and 39, took testosterone for five years and counting, to transition from female to male. I have been officially diagnosed with autism, clinical depression, and anxiety.) Then I asked the security and the cops (at least two cops constantly on duty at Home Depot), what to do. They told me that to tattle. The next time it happened, I tattled to a cop. By the time the cop got to the bathroom, the bathroom was empty. It took until the fifth time, and then the Loss Prevention showed me the videotape (Home Depot has a videocamera in front of the bathroom). Loss Prevention told me "We will take care of it". Since then, nobody has had the nerve to stomp on my foot in the bathroom. However, Loss Prevention also told me that the perpetrator was a day laborer. Every day, a lot of day laborers hang out in the parking lot, from sunrise til sunset, and often go to the bathroom. I have seen the perpetrator, but a couple other day laborers look just like him. My job is to push carts and load merchandise. Some of the carts are in the day laborer area (although they do not have a day laborer area, because they do not pay rent and they do not work there). Sometimes customers demand me load their merchandise in the day laborer area. Every time I go to the day laborer side of the parking lot, I am afraid that they might injure me. There are just too many of them.
_______________________________________________________
In those two years, 12 separate people have had the nerve to call me "Chino", 10 of them at Home Depot, and 8 of them day laborers.
April 2022, a day laborer came and screamed "Chino!" many times at me. He had the nerve to slap me on the back in the bathroom (he might have been trying to be friendly).
Is that "harassment" or is it just "freedom of speech"? (Is that "Unsafe Work Environment"?). And even if it was "harassment", I had zero physical evidence that he had the nerve to slap me. (Loss Prevention *(only)* has access to the videotapes, but the videotape only shows the entrance to the bathroom, not inside the bathroom. Neither the manager nor I have a right to access the videotape. He could deny it.
One time, in May 2022, the day laborer kept screaming "Chino" at me, and I tattled to a cop, and the cop made the day laborer leave. About a week later, the same day laborer had the nerve to do the same thing, and I tattled to a different cop. The cop talked to the day laborer, and the cop then told told me that the day laborer said that the day laborer was "sorry" and will not do it again. Then another day, the day laborer kept screaming "Chino" at me, and I tattled to a cop, but by the time the cop got to the scene, the day laborer was gone. After that, the day laborer has been coming to the parking lot about once a week, and saying things like "Chino is my friend". "Chino, Chino, see you tomorrow." He acted like "Chino" was my name. (Some signs in the parking lot say that the parking lot is under videotape, but not audiotape, but I do not have access to the tapes.)
_______________________________________________________________________
What, if anything, could I do to reduce the interactions the day laborers have with me?
___________________________________________________________________
The parking lot is Home Depot's property, and Home Depot has a right to ban the day laborers completely, but Home Depot chooses not to. The training videos specify that only salaried managers have a right to ban someone from Home Depot, and I am not a salaried manager. (Sometimes, the entire Home Depot has only one manager on duty. Home Depot is a large building, and one person is so small. It takes a lot of time and energy to find the one manager on duty, and sometimes the manager is busy.) (The cops are sometimes behind Freight, or elsewhere in the building. There are only two cops on duty at any given time, and the cops are often busy, [or something like that], and by the time I find them, the perpetrator is often gone.)
_______________________________________________________________________
Home Depot has signs in the parking lot "no soliciting, no trespassing, no loitering", but the cops do not enforce it. Last year, a security guard said that he banned all the day laborers from the parking lot. However, the day laborers kept coming back. Once in a while, a security guard makes the day laborers leave the parking lot, but then they loiter right on the border and when the security guard leaves, the day laborers come back in. The cops did not issue the day laborers a Trespass Warrant or anything like that.
When you type in "Unsafe Work Environment" to Yahoo, you get
"An unsafe work environment occurs when an employee is unable to perform his or her required daily duties because the physical conditions of the workplace are too dangerous. For instance, exposed wiring, broken equipment, hazardous materials, or asbestos could pose an unsafe working environment for employees." "Physical conditions". Day laborers are not a "physical condition".
Do the day laborers make Home Depot an "unsafe work environment"? Or does Home Depot have some sort of duty to protect me from the day laborers? Or is it just that day laborers do not work for Home Depot, so Home Depot doesn't have a responsibility to do anything about it? (I am afraid that if I complain, I will get made redundant ("at will employer"), and then nobody will ever hire me again).
__________________________________________________________________________
In July 2021, the Home Depot human resources told me that Corporate approved my request for an American Disability Act accommodation, that I could not lift over fifty pounds, and that I had to have access to a bathroom at all times. (Between one half and one quarter of loading demands involve merchandise over fifty pounds. Some days, zero customers demand I load their merchandise. Sometimes, five customers in one hour demand that I load their merchandise.)
(1) However, plenty of merchandise do not have the weight listed.
(2) The job description does not specify how much weight the Lot Attendant is required to lift. (One cabinet said it weighed 510 pounds, but I have only seen one cabinet loaded, in two years.)
(3) Nobody asked in the job interview, how much weight I could lift.
(4) The hiring process did not contain a lifting test.
(5) The hiring process did not contain a physical exam.
(6) Customers sometimes overreact when I tell them about the doctor note, and I am afraid the customers might physically injure me.
September 2022, I was trying to unload a tool (looks like a lawnmower, but much heavier) with a customer, and unintentionally dropped the tool. On the way down, the handle of the tool hit me in the mouth and chipped my tooth. Per company policy, I reported the incident.
After the chipped tooth, I have been much more worried than usual about lifting injuries. When a customer demands that I load something too heavy, I have to go around begging other associates to please load it for me. When I ask someone to make an announcement on the intercom for loading assistance, sometimes loading assistance does not come, or takes such a long time, the customer has either (1) thrown a temper tantrum or (2) left. Usually, a lot of associates refuse to load it for me. Meanwhile, the customer is (verbally) snapping at me and rude (but they didn't do anything illegal). Home Depot did not violate the American Disabilities Act.
Yesterday, a customer demanded that I load a tool, so I told him it's too heavy and offered to get someone to load it for him. At the time, there were only two other lot attendants on duty. (Sometimes I am the only lot attendant at work.) Lot Attendant Two told me that he could not load the tool because he "hurt my shoulder". Lot Attendant Three was on break/lunch/not responding. (Some lot attendants do not answer the walkie talkie or public announcement calls, and some lot attendants leave the property, or stand around talking to other employees for a long time, while they are still clocked in. I am afraid to tattle on them, because the manager might not believe me, the manager might not care, the employee might be having sex with the manager, and "snitches get stitches".)
The Associate Coordinator told me that I could call her over the intercom for loading assistance, but she is not always at work when I am at work (and when she is at work, she is often not in her department or in the building). Then the Associate Coordinator told me that if the Head Cashier is a man, he has to help lift, and any male employee also is required to help with loading, unless he is injured. (Isn't that sexual discrimination, to have different requirements for men and women that have the same job title?) Also, how is that enforced? I do not have a right to check doctor notes.
Then Lot Attendant Two told me that lot attendants are "not day laborer or proloader" and if the customer is a middle aged man and not injured, the customer has to help with loading. (Isn't that age discrimination? Besides, not everyone appears their age, and I do not have a right to examine their driver's license, or even their receipts.) I do not have a right to check doctor notes.
It makes me afraid that so many employees will refuse loading assistance, and I will end up giving up, try to load the merchandise myself, and incurring excessive medical bills.
Yesterday, I asked an employee (do not know her job title) if she could please write on a piece of paper, what I am supposed to do when a customer demands that I load something that is too heavy, and she refused. (I could ask other managers, but they might all refuse. Besides, "at will" employer, so even if I did everything perfectly, I could still get made redundant.)
___________________________________________________________________
December 2021, one day, Home Depot scheduled me to work in the Garden (instead of the parking lot, as usual). And I was trying to set up the work station then I went to the Head Cashier because I needed someone to tell me how to set up the work station, and Lot Attendant Two was telling Head Cashier that "(my name mispronounced) has not pushed any carts between 10 and 11am". So I said "I'm in Tree Lot (working in the Garden)".
He makes me paranoid he (or someone else) is going to be successful at making me redundant. (Home Depot's signs say that it is under videotape, but the lockerroom, bathroom, training room, and office are not videotaped. Lot Attendant Two (or any other employee or customer) could tell the manager any accusation about me, and I could not disprove it. For example, Lot Attendant Two could claim that I vandalized the bathroom and I would not be able to disprove it because (1) the bathroom is not under videocamera (2) I do not have a right to access the videotape. Lot Attendant Two wastes a lot of time (clocked in) standing around talking to plenty of employees, some which have termination power. I am afraid that if Lot Attendant Two (or anyone else) makes a wrongful accusation against me to the manager, the manager will make me redundant ("at will" employer). Zero due diligence, zero due process. Thus far, nobody told me anything about disciplinary action against me (for example, write ups, coaching, counseling). However, if I were fired, I would not be able to login, so if I get fired, I will know. However, I do not know for certain, if anyone has taken disciplinary action against me. On the other hand, I have not requested to inspect my permanent record, because then the human resources would wonder, what bad and wrong thing I did, that makes me wonder if disciplinary action was taken against me.
If someone makes a wrongful accusation against me, and I get made redundant as a result, what, if anything, could I do about it?
___________________________________________________________________________
Been working at Home Depot as a Lot Attendant for over two years.
July 2021, a day laborer waved me over to pick up the cart that he had been sitting on. While I was bent over trying to pick up the cart, he had the nerve to feign a kick at me, and then he was like "amigo" and *thumbs up*. However, I did not tattle on him (although maybe I should have), because I was afraid that if I did, all the day laborers would have physically injured me when I left work. (The Home Depot is in the middle of a homeless encampment, and it appears like a dangerous location, with inadequate witnesses or supervision.)
_______________________________________________________________
Between November 2021 and March 2022, five different days, someone reached under the toilet partition and stomped on my foot with his paw. The first time, I screamed, and he burst out laughing like it was the funniest thing in the world. The other times, I did not react. However, I have been totally afraid that someone might crawl under the door and rape me. (Between 24 and 39, took testosterone for five years and counting, to transition from female to male. I have been officially diagnosed with autism, clinical depression, and anxiety.) Then I asked the security and the cops (at least two cops constantly on duty at Home Depot), what to do. They told me that to tattle. The next time it happened, I tattled to a cop. By the time the cop got to the bathroom, the bathroom was empty. It took until the fifth time, and then the Loss Prevention showed me the videotape (Home Depot has a videocamera in front of the bathroom). Loss Prevention told me "We will take care of it". Since then, nobody has had the nerve to stomp on my foot in the bathroom. However, Loss Prevention also told me that the perpetrator was a day laborer. Every day, a lot of day laborers hang out in the parking lot, from sunrise til sunset, and often go to the bathroom. I have seen the perpetrator, but a couple other day laborers look just like him. My job is to push carts and load merchandise. Some of the carts are in the day laborer area (although they do not have a day laborer area, because they do not pay rent and they do not work there). Sometimes customers demand me load their merchandise in the day laborer area. Every time I go to the day laborer side of the parking lot, I am afraid that they might injure me. There are just too many of them.
_______________________________________________________
In those two years, 12 separate people have had the nerve to call me "Chino", 10 of them at Home Depot, and 8 of them day laborers.
April 2022, a day laborer came and screamed "Chino!" many times at me. He had the nerve to slap me on the back in the bathroom (he might have been trying to be friendly).
Is that "harassment" or is it just "freedom of speech"? (Is that "Unsafe Work Environment"?). And even if it was "harassment", I had zero physical evidence that he had the nerve to slap me. (Loss Prevention *(only)* has access to the videotapes, but the videotape only shows the entrance to the bathroom, not inside the bathroom. Neither the manager nor I have a right to access the videotape. He could deny it.
One time, in May 2022, the day laborer kept screaming "Chino" at me, and I tattled to a cop, and the cop made the day laborer leave. About a week later, the same day laborer had the nerve to do the same thing, and I tattled to a different cop. The cop talked to the day laborer, and the cop then told told me that the day laborer said that the day laborer was "sorry" and will not do it again. Then another day, the day laborer kept screaming "Chino" at me, and I tattled to a cop, but by the time the cop got to the scene, the day laborer was gone. After that, the day laborer has been coming to the parking lot about once a week, and saying things like "Chino is my friend". "Chino, Chino, see you tomorrow." He acted like "Chino" was my name. (Some signs in the parking lot say that the parking lot is under videotape, but not audiotape, but I do not have access to the tapes.)
_______________________________________________________________________
What, if anything, could I do to reduce the interactions the day laborers have with me?
___________________________________________________________________
The parking lot is Home Depot's property, and Home Depot has a right to ban the day laborers completely, but Home Depot chooses not to. The training videos specify that only salaried managers have a right to ban someone from Home Depot, and I am not a salaried manager. (Sometimes, the entire Home Depot has only one manager on duty. Home Depot is a large building, and one person is so small. It takes a lot of time and energy to find the one manager on duty, and sometimes the manager is busy.) (The cops are sometimes behind Freight, or elsewhere in the building. There are only two cops on duty at any given time, and the cops are often busy, [or something like that], and by the time I find them, the perpetrator is often gone.)
_______________________________________________________________________
Home Depot has signs in the parking lot "no soliciting, no trespassing, no loitering", but the cops do not enforce it. Last year, a security guard said that he banned all the day laborers from the parking lot. However, the day laborers kept coming back. Once in a while, a security guard makes the day laborers leave the parking lot, but then they loiter right on the border and when the security guard leaves, the day laborers come back in. The cops did not issue the day laborers a Trespass Warrant or anything like that.
When you type in "Unsafe Work Environment" to Yahoo, you get
"An unsafe work environment occurs when an employee is unable to perform his or her required daily duties because the physical conditions of the workplace are too dangerous. For instance, exposed wiring, broken equipment, hazardous materials, or asbestos could pose an unsafe working environment for employees." "Physical conditions". Day laborers are not a "physical condition".
Do the day laborers make Home Depot an "unsafe work environment"? Or does Home Depot have some sort of duty to protect me from the day laborers? Or is it just that day laborers do not work for Home Depot, so Home Depot doesn't have a responsibility to do anything about it? (I am afraid that if I complain, I will get made redundant ("at will employer"), and then nobody will ever hire me again).
__________________________________________________________________________
In July 2021, the Home Depot human resources told me that Corporate approved my request for an American Disability Act accommodation, that I could not lift over fifty pounds, and that I had to have access to a bathroom at all times. (Between one half and one quarter of loading demands involve merchandise over fifty pounds. Some days, zero customers demand I load their merchandise. Sometimes, five customers in one hour demand that I load their merchandise.)
(1) However, plenty of merchandise do not have the weight listed.
(2) The job description does not specify how much weight the Lot Attendant is required to lift. (One cabinet said it weighed 510 pounds, but I have only seen one cabinet loaded, in two years.)
(3) Nobody asked in the job interview, how much weight I could lift.
(4) The hiring process did not contain a lifting test.
(5) The hiring process did not contain a physical exam.
(6) Customers sometimes overreact when I tell them about the doctor note, and I am afraid the customers might physically injure me.
September 2022, I was trying to unload a tool (looks like a lawnmower, but much heavier) with a customer, and unintentionally dropped the tool. On the way down, the handle of the tool hit me in the mouth and chipped my tooth. Per company policy, I reported the incident.
After the chipped tooth, I have been much more worried than usual about lifting injuries. When a customer demands that I load something too heavy, I have to go around begging other associates to please load it for me. When I ask someone to make an announcement on the intercom for loading assistance, sometimes loading assistance does not come, or takes such a long time, the customer has either (1) thrown a temper tantrum or (2) left. Usually, a lot of associates refuse to load it for me. Meanwhile, the customer is (verbally) snapping at me and rude (but they didn't do anything illegal). Home Depot did not violate the American Disabilities Act.
Yesterday, a customer demanded that I load a tool, so I told him it's too heavy and offered to get someone to load it for him. At the time, there were only two other lot attendants on duty. (Sometimes I am the only lot attendant at work.) Lot Attendant Two told me that he could not load the tool because he "hurt my shoulder". Lot Attendant Three was on break/lunch/not responding. (Some lot attendants do not answer the walkie talkie or public announcement calls, and some lot attendants leave the property, or stand around talking to other employees for a long time, while they are still clocked in. I am afraid to tattle on them, because the manager might not believe me, the manager might not care, the employee might be having sex with the manager, and "snitches get stitches".)
The Associate Coordinator told me that I could call her over the intercom for loading assistance, but she is not always at work when I am at work (and when she is at work, she is often not in her department or in the building). Then the Associate Coordinator told me that if the Head Cashier is a man, he has to help lift, and any male employee also is required to help with loading, unless he is injured. (Isn't that sexual discrimination, to have different requirements for men and women that have the same job title?) Also, how is that enforced? I do not have a right to check doctor notes.
Then Lot Attendant Two told me that lot attendants are "not day laborer or proloader" and if the customer is a middle aged man and not injured, the customer has to help with loading. (Isn't that age discrimination? Besides, not everyone appears their age, and I do not have a right to examine their driver's license, or even their receipts.) I do not have a right to check doctor notes.
It makes me afraid that so many employees will refuse loading assistance, and I will end up giving up, try to load the merchandise myself, and incurring excessive medical bills.
Yesterday, I asked an employee (do not know her job title) if she could please write on a piece of paper, what I am supposed to do when a customer demands that I load something that is too heavy, and she refused. (I could ask other managers, but they might all refuse. Besides, "at will" employer, so even if I did everything perfectly, I could still get made redundant.)
___________________________________________________________________
December 2021, one day, Home Depot scheduled me to work in the Garden (instead of the parking lot, as usual). And I was trying to set up the work station then I went to the Head Cashier because I needed someone to tell me how to set up the work station, and Lot Attendant Two was telling Head Cashier that "(my name mispronounced) has not pushed any carts between 10 and 11am". So I said "I'm in Tree Lot (working in the Garden)".
He makes me paranoid he (or someone else) is going to be successful at making me redundant. (Home Depot's signs say that it is under videotape, but the lockerroom, bathroom, training room, and office are not videotaped. Lot Attendant Two (or any other employee or customer) could tell the manager any accusation about me, and I could not disprove it. For example, Lot Attendant Two could claim that I vandalized the bathroom and I would not be able to disprove it because (1) the bathroom is not under videocamera (2) I do not have a right to access the videotape. Lot Attendant Two wastes a lot of time (clocked in) standing around talking to plenty of employees, some which have termination power. I am afraid that if Lot Attendant Two (or anyone else) makes a wrongful accusation against me to the manager, the manager will make me redundant ("at will" employer). Zero due diligence, zero due process. Thus far, nobody told me anything about disciplinary action against me (for example, write ups, coaching, counseling). However, if I were fired, I would not be able to login, so if I get fired, I will know. However, I do not know for certain, if anyone has taken disciplinary action against me. On the other hand, I have not requested to inspect my permanent record, because then the human resources would wonder, what bad and wrong thing I did, that makes me wonder if disciplinary action was taken against me.
If someone makes a wrongful accusation against me, and I get made redundant as a result, what, if anything, could I do about it?
___________________________________________________________________________
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