[nagdu] Need Advice About Allergic Coworker

PICKRELL, REBECCA M (TASC) REBECCA.PICKRELL at tasc.com
Tue Jan 4 18:22:08 UTC 2011


He doesn't need to be happy with anything. He is creating a hostile work environment. I'd approach this the way you would if he were making racial or sexual comments as people do that out of earshot of other coworkers and there is no evidence other then a "he said-she said" of what happened. 

Is he telling you he's having these problems, or is he telling management? If he's telling you but refusing to take any action either personally or with management so that you can come to an agreement that is within legal rights of all involved, I'd really go for the hostile work environment case. I'd seriously go for it now givent hat you are now afraid. Not good and I'd seriously talk to a lawyer about that if only for a consult. I'd also not worry about what your supervisor feels. His/her job is not to feel, it's to be an effective manager. Your job is also not to feel, nor is it the job of your coworker. 
Good luck, this is a miserable position to be in.

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of solsticesinger
Sent: Tuesday, December 28, 2010 10:03 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Need Advice About Allergic Coworker

My understanding is that it is your coworker's responsibility to come up 
with a solution to his allergies. The sollution can not be for you to leave 
your dog in one area of the building. He needs to take medication, see a 
doctor, or something.

I've dealt with people who claim to have dog alergies, and, basically, I've 
told them to take meds before coming into contact with my dog. I do my part 
by keeping her well-groomed, and, of course, I don't allow her to be in 
their personal space. However, that's as far as I'm willing to go.

Good luck.

Shannon and Caroline
Are you a fan of women's music? If so, join me, each Wednesday evening from 
7-10 eastern, for The Eclectic Collection: a Celebration of Women In Music. 
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----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Alysha" <anjeans at att.net>
To: <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, December 28, 2010 6:38 PM
Subject: [nagdu] Need Advice About Allergic Coworker


> Hello,
> I was hoping some of you might have some suggestions for me about how to 
> deal with an issue I've been having with a coworker who is allergic to my 
> seeing eye dog Hammar. I've been at this job for about 6 months now, and I 
> was originally assigned to work in his lab. He first mentioned that he was 
> having problems with allergies after about a week, and I moved to another 
> lab. Everything was fine until about a month ago, but one day I forgot and 
> brought Hammar into his lab. He complained about having an allergic 
> reaction that night, and he took 2 or 3 days of sick leave because of it. 
> My supervisor (who I think feels terrible about the whole thing) reminded 
> me to keep Hammar out of his lab, and I apologized and said that I had no 
> problem doing that as long as he wasn't restricted in other areas of the 
> building. After that, my coworker has repeatedly mentioned having 
> reactions to Hammar from being in common spaces (break room, conference 
> room, etc.) where Hammar has also spent time. Now I'm worried that I might 
> be prevented from bringing my dog to areas of the building where I 
> commonly have meetings and eat lunch. The kicker is that neither I or 
> anyone I've talked to have ever once seen this man sneeze, have red or 
> swollen eyes, blow his nose, or wheeze, and all of his reactions seem to 
> happen once he's at home and away from the source of the allergy. I was 
> told by another coworker that he said he almost had to go to the emergency 
> room because of his allergies, but that a fever was one of his symptoms. 
> As far as I know, fevers aren't caused by allergies. At the time of this 
> reaction, almost everyone in the office had been sick with fevers and 
> colds. He has apparently had breathing problems at home, but he's a chain 
> smoker. I have heard him complain once at work of itching, but that's it. 
> So maybe my dog is part of his problem, but his reactions could definitely 
> be caused by something else as well.
>
> I'm wondering what I should do in this tricky situation? I'm really not OK 
> with having to leave Hammar in my lab the entire time I'm at work, 
> especially if the allergy complaint isn't actually legitimate. I suggested 
> to my supervisor that we have a cleaning crew come to the break/conference 
> room more often to vacuum (which really needs to happen allergies or no 
> allergies), and I'm also going to suggest we add a HEPA filter there to 
> help keep dander out of the air. I groom Hammar an absolute minimum of 
> every other day, and I always sit in the same place for meetings and 
> lunch. But any thoughts on what my rights are or what I should do if my 
> coworker isn't happy with these solutions?
>
> Thanks,
> Alysha
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