Working in Connecticut, is my employer breaking employee safety laws?

Question

I am working part time at a very high end resturant while I go back to school. I was once a manager in CT and I don't think what my work is doing is legal, this is the first time in my life I have ever had a grevence with a business and I am not usually a squeaky wheel.

One, our first aid kits are empty,and people are burning or cutting themselves often and we have no supplies. I've had to use my own personal first aid kit on many ocassions. Our boss and manager are aware of the situation, yet do nothing

Two, if someone is seriously injured I have no idea where to go. There is no posting of a workman's comp place. In fact there are no posters of any kind stating minimum wage or anyother legal stuff I remember having to post in a store I managed a few years ago.

Three recently my boss decided that if a glass or plate broke, we had to pay for it. Starting at $4 going up to $6. Can they inforce this, since I never agreed to it in writing or verbaly?

Answer 1

Wow, if this is how the management is running a high end restaurant, I an glad that I am not working there. You should contact OSHA which is the Occupational Safety and Health Administration about the empty first aid boxes. Any business can be in big trouble for not having first aid kits fully stocked at all times. Anywhere that I have worked within New England have had to have fully stocked first aid kits including gloves for putting on if someone gets cut and multiple types of bandages and first aid ointments. Any business with none-family employees has to have accident and injury forms available also. This seems like it would be even more imperative in a setting where people are dealing with food. It is definitely illegal for the business to be operating without the workmans comp posters and minimum wage posters, as well as numbers for OSHA to report problems. I don't believe that a business can charge for items that get broken either, unless one particular employee is breaking things constantly. I do not like to think that employers deliberately break or bend the law, but it can happen. The posters may be posted somewhere on the premises where the employees are not able to see them, but that is illegal also. You can get to OSHA on the Internet at www.osha.com. I had to report a place of employment a few years ago, and I was able to do it anonymously, and investigators were on the premises within a few days. It was amazing how fast the problem was taken care of after their visit. Best of luck to you and thank you for being a responsible employee. Have a good night!