Lack of a/c in office

NeedAdvice · February 2003

I hope someone can help me out here. I work in an office in southern FL that has an a/c unit that goes out on a regular basis. The windows cannot be opened and we do not have fans. Our office is a satellite office and the main office does not have this problem.

Last week the a/c was out the entire day. The temp in the office was somewhere in the 90s. I am the supervisor of MY office, but my bosses are in the main office. I called them to see if I could permit my staff to work from home or in the field. Their reply was to "stick it out". To make a long story short, after much arguing I was able to send most of my staff out in the field while I remained behind along with my secretary.

The rationale of my bosses was that SOMEONE needed to be in the office, however, when there are meetings in the main office there is often NO ONE in our office and this never seems to be an issue.

My question is - is there any law prohibiting them from requiring us to remain in an office that has NO a/c, no fresh air, and the temp can reach into the 90s and above?

Thanks for any help.

Theresa Gegen TX · February 2003

There might be an OSHA regulation on it.

NeedAdvice · February 2003

I have looked but cannot find anything on it.

Rockie · February 2003

I couldn't find anything in the OSHA regulation about this. I think it is highly insensitive not to address this issue because I have been in Southern Florida and the heat and humidity can be brutal. At the very least, I would get my own fan and keep it at the office. I would again ask the bosses to please check into getting a more reliable air conditioner for your office.

Even in South Carolina, in the summertime, with the air conditioner on, it can still get extremely hot in the office. We have some people who wear as little as possible to remain decent and have the temperature jacked way up. Those of us who wear suits and jackets roast. My CEO finally got "cooked" in a closed door session one day and had locked boxes put over the thermostats so these "semi-nudists" couldn't monkey around with them.

Anyway....I would certainly request to have the unit fixed or replaced.

Don D · February 2003

I would certainly find a way to have the door remain open. This happens on a regular basis?........I would also bring one or two personal fans and suggest others do the same. Please don't tell me your 'home office' would object to that. They won't if you don't tell them. I don't think you'll find any regulatory help on this one.

NeedAdvice · February 2003

Thank you everyone for your responses. Don D. the home office says they will order fans but have yet to do so, and I will not be surprised if it does not happen. Our office is located inside of a building so the door opens to a hallway, not to the outside. We are the only office that has these problems, and yes, it happens on a regular basis. Last year we DID have to close the office as the a/c was out for 3 days in a row. Of course "closing" actually meant we worked from home or in the field...

I am really sorry there are no regulations for this!

Don D · February 2003

The simplest 'solution' to your hopefully temporary problem is to bring fans from home, prop the door open, put one fan out in the hall blowing cooled hall air into the office and position three others around the room. Send somebody to Baskin Robbins and put yourselves on 1/2 output for the day. Don't ask for fans from the home office again. If this happens more than twice during the hot months, polish up your resumes.

NeedAdvice · February 2003

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 02-27-03 AT 01:13PM (CST)[/font][p] >The simplest 'solution' to your hopefully temporary problem is to
>bring fans from home, prop the door open, put one fan out in the hall
>blowing cooled hall air into the office and position three others
>around the room. Send somebody to Baskin Robbins and put yourselves on
>1/2 output for the day. Don't ask for fans from the home office again.
>If this happens more than twice during the hot months, polish up your
>resumes.

LOL - my resume is!

Balloonman · February 2003

I have no better answers for the the problem that have been given but have a suggestion to some things you can do for the staff. In a past life I worked in a 9 story manufacturing building that did not have a/c on the production floors. The equipment generated heat, and inside temps in August could hit 120's.
Find a way to get some freezer pops frozen up, or locate a nearby place you can buy some and ice cream bars. Keep a cooler handy. Next time this happens, load up on ice, freezer pops and ice cream and play ice cream man! Then maybe have a drawing for those who get to leave and go home w/ pay of course, those who must go into the field, and 1 or 2 unfortunate ones who must man the phones. Write it down and let people know you will start a rotation so no one by bad luck gets stuck there each time.
You know it sucks, they know it sucks, but, this will let them know how much you value them, and make light of a bad situation. Might also have a raffle for a fan to give to the employees.
Anyway, it does not solve the problem, but it might help. Also a nice Hawian print shirt would go over well when delivery the ice cream.
My $0.02 worth, think I will go get me an ice cream cone!
DJ The Balloonman

Hunter1 · February 2003

There may actually be some regulations which would apply to your situation. You may want to look into your state building code, it may have an air exchange requirement for commercial buildings. At least you may get some fresh air, even if it's hot. Problem is, of course, what do you do with this information even if you get it? Maybe use it as leverage with the building owner as opposed to your employer.

djacobs475 · February 2003

Have you checked with the Health Dept. and the Labor Dept.?
I'm sure there must be some violations of work environment conditions here - although it may not fall under OSHA per se.

I remember reading something about some basic work environment standards that must be met.

Crout · February 2003

If your office is located within a commercial building, why aren't you screaming at the people who do the maintenance for the building? It seems that this would be a problem for the people who own the building, not your home office. I agree that this may be a building code violation, and suggest you contact your city or township to complain.

Don D · February 2003

The problem I see with the last several suggestions is that the building is not out of code if the unit is installed and functioning. An equipment breakdown with a repair call having been placed doesn't put one out of code, except very temporarily. A refusal to fix the unit or not having one in the first place would, but, as I understand it, a malfunction is written off as s... happens (not to be confused with the fingerpainting on the stall wall) by the code enforcers. Unless its a kitchen cooler found inoperable during a health inspection or something like that.

Lack of a/c in office

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