Be aware.. getting a job at a restaurant

[Geo16]

Recently I got a job at a restaurant 🙂

Also, I've talked to people in the hospital and Rehab center to basically get a volunteering opportunity.

But, due to public health reasons, you cannot work with sick people while working at a restaurant.

So... unfortunately, I had to make a choice: either I have to give up on volunteering or forget about getting a job. I chose the latter for financial reasons haha


Be aware for those of you who are willing to work!
Perhaps getting that CNA or Phlebotomy certification might be a better idea for getting a job.

Edit: it's proven my post is a complete nonsense

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[21Rush12]

What? Who said that? There's no such law that I have ever heard of, and I worked concomitantly in healthcare and food service for years.


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[Geo16]

What? Who said that? There's no such law that I have ever heard of, and I worked concomitantly in healthcare and food service for years.


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Hmm, that is weird 🙁
So.. the third party food inspector for our restaurant dictates that I can't work with sick people.
Haven't talked to my manager about it, but in the document it says that clearly.

 

[PreMedMissteps]

Hmm, that is weird 🙁
So.. the third party food inspector for our restaurant dictates that I can't work with sick people.
Haven't talked to my manager about it, but in the document it says that clearly.

What document....and when do the health inspectors ask employees what else they're doing with their lives? How else would they know? Do they interview each employee during each inspection???

Are people taking care of their sick kids or sick relatives also prohibited? What state is this? Sounds like an intrusion into people's lives outside of work.

 

[Geo16]

What document....and when do the health inspectors ask employees what else they're doing with their lives? How else would they know? Do they interview each employee during each inspection???

Are people taking care of their sick kids or sick relatives also prohibited? What state is this? Sounds like an intrusion into people's lives outside of work.

California (Bay Area)
It's like, they make us check off one of the questionnaires each morning. One of them (if I can recall) says I'm not working with sick people at the moment.
I'll look into it again today. If I'm wrong, well, shoot, what the heck's wrong with me lol.

 

[21Rush12]

Yeah so it's a private company coming in consulting about food safety, not the actual health inspector. I would lie to them because that's frankly none of their business and they have no right to that information. They can ask, but you're under no obligation to answer, IMO.


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[PreMedMissteps]

Yeah so it's a private company coming in consulting about food safety, not the actual health inspector. I would lie to them because that's frankly none of their business and they have no right to that information. They can ask, but you're under no obligation to answer, IMO.


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If it's a private 3rd party company, then it's none of their business.

"Not working with" is such a broad statement. It could mean volunteer work or even being around your own sick kids. Don't quit your job. This is overreaching.

But no matter what, have excellent sanitary practices.

 

[Geo16]

Yeah so it's a private company coming in consulting about food safety, not the actual health inspector. I would lie to them because that's frankly none of their business and they have no right to that information. They can ask, but you're under no obligation to answer, IMO.


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Hm... I'm going to fill up my app now.
I'll ask my manager and do some actual research.. Several weeks ago I just saw that question on the first day and I gave up filling my app.
So.. I basically gave up on several weeks of volunteering opportunities just because of this.... what... the.... 🙁

 

[Geo16]

If it's a private 3rd party company, then it's none of their business.

"Not working with" is such a broad statement. It could mean volunteer work or even being around your own sick kids. Don't quit your job. This is overreaching.

But no matter what, have excellent sanitary practices.

Alright.. damn, I just wanted to be on the line with codes and laws.
But yeah, we do wash hands several times a day and switch gloves like crazy. And we sanitize all surfaces and be extra careful.
Also, we wash our dishes way too much 😛 Scrub scrub

 

[Mad Jack]

If it's a private 3rd party company, then it's none of their business.

"Not working with" is such a broad statement. It could mean volunteer work or even being around your own sick kids. Don't quit your job. This is overreaching.

But no matter what, have excellent sanitary practices.

Anyone who works with the public by definition works with sick people. You can't work in a restaurant without working with sick people, so they should clearly just shut down

 

[Geo16]

Anyone who works with the public by definition world with sick people. You can't work in a restaurant without working with sick people, so they should clearly just shut down

Shoot!! I gave up on volunteering just for nothing. God damn it 🙁
I'll look into this today. Perhaps I could do some volunteering!

 

[LizzyM]

This is overly cautious on the part of the consultant, in my opinion. On the other hand, if someone in your household has Hepatitis A or some other communicable condition, it could be spread through your food service job and that is a nightmare for a food service organization.

I'd suggest getting a volunteer gig that puts you close enough to smell patients but not actually required/permitted to touch them. This is pretty typical in hospitals and can include pushing wheelchairs, delivering flowers or meal trays to the bedside, bringing blankets and other items to patients in the emergency department, etc.

 

[21Rush12]

However, if you yourself had Hep A per LizzyM's example, I don't think they could legally prohibit you from working provided you followed sanitation guidelines. Even typhoid mary would have been allowed to work if she would have washed her damn hands.


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[LizzyM]

However, if you yourself had Hep A per LizzyM's example, I don't think they could legally prohibit you from working provided you followed sanitation guidelines. Even typhoid mary would have been allowed to work if she would have washed her damn hands.


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I've been in the health department when they were collecting stool samples from employees from a fast food restaurant... you don't want to be the guy who started that chain of events! Hep A is a short term illness and in all likelihood a worker testing positive for Hep A would be required to be on sick leave until they'd cleared the virus.

NY State health department says:
For how long is an infected person able to spread the virus?
The contagious period begins one to two weeks before symptoms appear, and is minimal about one week after the onset of jaundice. Food workers should be excluded from work for at least two weeks after the onset of clinical symptoms of hepatitis A. If jaundiced, food workers should not return to work for at least one week after onset of jaundice.

Does past infection with hepatitis A make a person immune?
Once an individual recovers from hepatitis A, he or she cannot be re-infected. He or she is immune for life and does not continue to carry the virus.

Note that you can be contagious before symptoms appear which is why some food safety people might want to keep workers who have had "sick contacts" away from food prep/service until after the sick person has recovered.

 

[Geo16]

This is overly cautious on the part of the consultant, in my opinion. On the other hand, if someone in your household has Hepatitis A or some other communicable condition, it could be spread through your food service job and that is a nightmare for a food service organization.

I'd suggest getting a volunteer gig that puts you close enough to smell patients but not actually required/permitted to touch them. This is pretty typical in hospitals and can include pushing wheelchairs, delivering flowers or meal trays to the bedside, bringing blankets and other items to patients in the emergency department, etc.

So... came back from work. The manager said as long as I'm not working with contagious ppl and get myself sick, it's good to go.
Lizzy you are familiar with the C.Diff post LOL
Do you think working at Rehab center that includes all of these (looks/functions just like a hospital and nurses are present) would be good?

 

[LizzyM]

So... came back from work. The manager said as long as I'm not working with contagious ppl and get myself sick, it's good to go.
Lizzy you are familiar with the C.Diff post LOL
Do you think working at Rehab center that includes all of these (looks/functions just like a hospital and nurses are present) would be good?

Are there "patients" at the Rehab center?

 

[Geo16]

Are there "patients" at the Rehab center?

You mean, if the place call their residents 'patients?'
Yes, they do.
They have regular doctor visits (doctors visit them) and are taken care of by nurses in their other days.
They arrange services with others Physicians : Pod & Dental / PT and Occupational Therapy
Other services are available like: Wound care(wound-vac), pharmaceutical, lab, x-ray, IV therapy, restorative nursing etc.

 

[LizzyM]

As I like to say, "If you are close enough to smell patients, it is a clinical experience." They should be patients and you need to be close to them although there is no expectation that a pre-med clinical experience includes touching patients or doing procedures on them. It sounds like you'll have a clinical experience at the rehab center.

 

[Geo16]

As I like to say, "If you are close enough to smell patients, it is a clinical experience." They should be patients and you need to be close to them although there is no expectation that a pre-med clinical experience includes touching patients or doing procedures on them. It sounds like you'll have a clinical experience at the rehab center.

Noice, I'm sending my app this Tuesday... gotta work again tomorrow ;-;
Thanks Lizzy!

 

[rabbott1971]

Yeah so it's a private company coming in consulting about food safety, not the actual health inspector. I would lie to them because that's frankly none of their business and they have no right to that information. They can ask, but you're under no obligation to answer, IMO.

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Hello. I had to cringe when reading this, and actually chime in. Advising OP to lie is not what we should be doing. Moreover, professing your own willingness to lie is not, respectfully, what you should be doing. There are better ways to handle the situation. What if your advice to lie got the OP in a bunch of trouble? What if your own eagerness to lie got you into trouble?

And finally, your analysis of this situation, and the "right to the information," etc., is under-informed at best. Frankly I have no opinion on working in food service and healthcare, but let's pump the brakes on reading a few posts and then giving someone advice that could be very bad for them.

 

[Geo16]

Hello. I had to cringe when reading this, and actually chime in. Advising OP to lie is not what we should be doing. Moreover, professing your own willingness to lie is not, respectfully, what you should be doing. There are better ways to handle the situation. What if your advice to lie got the OP in a bunch of trouble? What if your own eagerness to lie got you into trouble?

And finally, your analysis of this situation, and the "right to the information," etc., is under-informed at best. Frankly I have no opinion on working in food service and healthcare, but let's pump the brakes on reading a few posts and then giving someone advice that could be very bad for them.

Sir, you might need to calm down a bit 😛 I get your point!
Also, I never insisted on lying either. To be honest, lying would be a bad idea. Yes, it would be very bad to lie to my manager and to the 3rd party.
So I was upfront about it to my manager and the manager told me not to work with contagious ppl and get myself sick. Then I'd be spreading disease.
But as far as working with old ppl, I'm fine.

 

[21Rush12]

I have no qualms with what I said and I stand by it. Personal information, health information, how time off the clock is spent etc. are one of the employers business. I'm not telling OP to lie to Congress, I'm saying I would lie to someone who's asking for information they have no right to in the first place.

I'm not eager to lie, I just don't support business practices like this. This doesn't just affect people in OPs position, it also limits the opportunity of people working often minimum-wage food service jobs from seeking adequate employment elsewhere, especially in small towns where the two big employers are the hospital and the Domino's Pizza. This is a reality in a lot of the rural United States.

Regarding the under-informed: I can't speak for your state, but the state I have lived and worked in does not have any law that prohibits what OP said they were doing and there are very few exceptions to this, which LizzyM pointed out, that involve defined periods out of work for certain transmissible illnesses. No law prevents concurrent employment in health care and any other field for the reason of public health.

Anyway, it appears the issue was resolved by compromise. I just wouldn't want someone reading this thread in the future to think that there was an obligation to answer those questions which are not codified in any way.




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