We are an herb, spice and tea company and the work environment can get dusty at times. One of our employees is having health issues and is stating that she occasionally has issues breathing. She was prescribed an inhaler. For now we have said that it is ok to keep the inhaler on her person, provided it is in a pocket below the waist and covered by the production smock. The room is not huge and if she was having issues she could very quickly go out the door to use the inhaler.
There is some push back and complaining by her and other employees that she should be able to use her inhaler if she needs to in the production room........where there is open product........
We are uncomfortable with this, do not think it is food safe and honestly feel that if her condition is so bad, maybe she should not even be working in that room, however there is no other position for her to go to in the company right now.
Has anyone dealt with anything like this, and how did you handle it?
Our policy is personal medications are kept in lockers and not allowed in production areas, however we obviously don't want her passing out or having major issues, which is why she was told she could keep it in her pocket and use outside the room. I've read similar posts about rescue inhalers and EPI pens usually being the exception to the medication policy at other facilities as the administration of the medication needs to be done as soon as possible.
Anyone have any advice?
Edited by VictoriaRK, 01 March 2024 - 07:15 PM.