[NAGDU] fleas in the workplace

[Mary Metzger]

Hi Kerri (et al),
I suggest that, as you are doing, you continue to keep careful records of
your interactions with your supervisor and HR.  Have they given you anything
in writing?  As a pre-emptive measure you may want to obtain written
certification from your vet, stating that your dog is free of fleas.  Even
if you have not received anything in writing, you may decide to send your
supervisor and the HR representative written confirmation that your dog is
not the cause of any problem in the office.

You may also want to consider some of the following rhetorical questions: Is
this complaint about your dog part of a larger pattern?  Does your
supervisor generally deal directly with you?  Are your coworkers generally
supportive of you and your dog?  It does not sound as though your supervisor
attempted to talk with you alone before involving HR staff.  It also does
not seem as though the unnamed coworker mentioned the existence of a flea in
the office to you in advance of your conversation with your supervisor.
After all, the flea potentially posed more of a problem to you and your dog
than to any of your coworkers.

I'm not a lawyer either, but I have spent several decades working in human
resources management for several large agencies.  If I can help at all, feel
free to write to me off list.

Mary Beth Metzger
Mmetzger1 at nycap.rr.com