Dandruff

System · September 2003

I know we have talked about body odor before. I have a problem that is similar.
We hired a new cafe manager who looks to be doing a great job. The problem is that he has a very bad dandruff problem. The company T shirt is black and it is quite visible. He is wearing a hat but his hair is very long and even though it is tied back that doesn't seem to do any thing. To complicate matters further he does have a skin condition that is not noticeable at first but is probably the cause of the dandruff. I have been asked to talk to him about controlling his dandruff (CRIPES, the things we have to do) as it doesn't look very sanitary especially for a food services position. Got any advice?
My day is goin' downhill fast.

AnneLa · September 2003

Is the food service company in house or an external agency? If it's external, I'd make the call to your service manager and have the person removed.........YUCK! If it's internal, for the sake of everyone who's buying lunch, have a heart to heart with this guy or have the reporting manager do it. I wouldn't be buying lunch there under those circumstances........

System · September 2003

It is in house. We didn't realise it until after we hired him. We don't wantto just remove him. After all it looks to be a medical condition. There is no other job that has the equivalent position. I know it is yuck and I am going to have a heart to heart with him. Just how do I balance the heart and the YUCK part of that conversation?

scottorr · September 2003

Cheer up, just read some of Don's jokes on the har-de-har-har. This is probably a health condition. If cutomers are complaining you may want to mention it to him but be careful how you approach him. If it is just co-workers complaining, I'm not sure what you could do. I believe that there is treatment for these conditions but they may not work.

Whatever · September 2003

Keep in mind, that he may suffer from psoriasis or some other disease. I'm not too sure if this covered by ADA. In any case, I would probably have an open conversation with the ee. If he is suffering from a treatable condition, he should get treatment. If the dandruff and skin condition is due to hygiene issues, he should probably shower more frequently. Good luck.

Pixie · September 2003

Tell him to wear a hairnet ... end of problem! If you truly want to avoid the "heart to heart" make all employees that are around the food be required to wear a hairnet, then no one feels singled out.

System · September 2003

ee's that work with food are required to either wear the co. baseball cap or a hairnet. There are two other departments with that requirement and I KNOW that they will raise a stink about having them all wear hairnets. Looks like I will have to talk to him.

Parabeagle · September 2003

I don't think he could play the ADA card. I don't think dandruff (even dandruff resulting from a medical condition) rises to the level of "substantially limiting a major life activity." Although working is considered a major life activity according to the EEOC, there are jobs that can be performed that do not require food service. If treatments for the dandruff don't work and you continue to get complaints, eventually you're going to have to decide whether or not it's worth the grief.

mwild31 · September 2003

I agree with Parabeagle. I would approach the employee and do as others suggested and discuss the issue with the individual. On the positive side, at least it's not something he can deny - it's visible. Sometimes with body odor - the employee can deny - and short of having to get close and sniff - they can win the argument.

Don D · September 2003

Why is everyone running in circles speculating as to the cause of the problem or its potential connection to this law or that? The problem is customer service. The problem is the company's bottom line. The problem is the dandruff and the effect it may have on profitability. I see no need to get into a speculative analysis of the root cause (no pun intended) of the dandruff. Deal with the problem at hand. Tell the man that you have noticed his dandruff problem and you cannot have that in a food service environment. I went into a Dairy Queen in our capitol city four years ago and ordered a hamburger. I watched a long haired male cook pat out the meat patty to perfection. I thought, 'what an artist this guy is'. Then I watched him lay it on the grill and run his hand full length through his hair from front to back, his fingers spread out like a big comb. He was a greaser. I asked for my money back and will never go there again.

System · September 2003

I had the conversation and then I saw your post Don. I phrased just about as you advised and all went well. He has a skin condition and he agreed to be more aware of it. It isn't coming from his hair it's coming from his face so other than putting a mask on him we can't do anything except wait for open enrollment isurance (October) so that he can pay for his medication again. Can we pay for it in the meantime or would that be exposing us to precedent setting?

mwild31 · September 2003

You can advance him pay - unless that goes against precedence.

Dixie Lee · September 2003

I have had to deal with the body odor part and it is a very sensitive issue as this one is with dandruff.

I have informed the employee that I need to talk to him about a personal situation. Explain that you consider him/her a valuable employee and thus you wish to discuss..... which has been brought to your attention. (Thinking that it is a medical conditon, he/she will probably tell you). But I would offer your assistance for him/her to to address this problem. Because I consider them a "valuable" employee, I cannot watch others speaking about this in the workplace. I also confirm with them that this is a confidential meeting and no one else needs to know of our conversation.

I found with the "odor" problem, 2 employees did a turn around and we haven't noticed the problem any more, and nothing more was said. One employee said thank you for telling me, I didn't know.

If he/she does nothing and seems to ignore your discussion, you may need to transfer individual or terminate the employee stating that you had visited with them to improve and since none has been noted, you need to do termination.

Sometimes being the true person, with a heart to heart talk, can work. Good luck.

Dandruff

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