This is out of control, when will this shit end???
EDIT: just so everyone knows this is a Kroger owned company.
Edit 2: came to work anyways, still wearing the mask. I told them I wanted them to write me up and document me so I can have it on my record.
So now is the time to go back to them and show the regulation from OSHA around wearing masks in the workplace and that your employer must perform a Mask Fit Test on every person at work and every person who enters the store or its a $13,500 fine per person per incident. Anyone without a proper fitting mask must be given one by the employer at their expense. The employer also cannot require employees to wear masks indefinitely because it creates a oxygen reduced environment (masks cut the oxygen level to the wearer below the 19.5% minimum threshold). This is considered dangerous by OSHA and is subject to significant fines if the mask policy does not accommodate for this.
So go throw it right back in their face. It would be unfortunate for them if an anonymous tip was sent to OSHA about your employer.
Are you saying...This is the way?
I was wondering if the way for OP might be to document this, and sue Kroger's ass off?
I would definitely recommend he get that direction in writing from His manager. Email, memo, whatever. Get it in writing, signed by his manager. That’s the critical first step. I’m betting the manager won’t be so willing to do that. If the manager doesn’t put it in writing, then OP should continue wearing the mask.
If the manager does put the request in writing, then it’s a matter of digging through company policy and seeing if the request is a violation. He may have to get a lawyer to help with that.
OP get it in writing then hit them with the OSHA violation. Bet they change their tune.
Does the OSHA rule apply to face masks being mandated for a pandemic? I always thought that was more of a rule for dust/dirt/debris?
Get the USA-mask-hate in writing and signed... and then post it here, on Twatter, Facebook, and Parler. Make Krogers look like a piece of crap right on Independence Day!
🏅🏅🏅🏅🏅🏅🏅🏅🏅🏅
This is the way.
This is the way.
https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/covid-19/covid-19-faq.html
Ya that's not gonna work. Osha already classified cloth face coverings as "not PPE" so this will get you exactly squat.
Party pooper...jk thanks for the info.
Funny they state that these policies are not based on regulations or create new ones however, they fail to mention that cloth coverings violate their oxygen standards. It takes 30 sec for a cloth face mask to fall below the 19.5% minimum oxygen content standard and about 1 min to surpass the CO2 content (5,000 ppm). In fact in less than 5 min a cloth face covering will accumulate over 10,000 ppm of CO2 which is medically dangerous to individuals causing toxicity of your blood. Any long term breathing of CO2 with concentrations above 20,000 ppm can be fatal.
Sounds like a lawsuit to me.
It’s like giving a baby a pacifier so it’ll shut up and feel safe
Holy shit. This is amazing. Cloth masks are literally NOT PPE according to OSHA. I know the NPCs will keep bleating "but it's to protect others from you," but this needs to be spread far and wide, just like the details of all the toothless mask "mandates"!
If they're not "PPE" then should requirements to wear masks not be met with those cloth masks? Makes me think the employer must provide the fitted N95 masks.
This article seems to imply that an employer can force me to wear a face mask and also require me to pay for it. Did you guys come to the same conclusion? Because that seems really unfair to me.
Screw that. Don't make threats. Call OSHA now.
Normally I'd agree but OSHA wouldn't throw themselves on thus grenade.
Yeah, do this. Report it first, then go in with a different mask on that has neutral colors, then explain to them all of the money they are going to have to pay for each violation. Hint that it would be a shame if someone sent an anonymous tip.
If they fire you, you have already sent the tip to OSHA and it's clear proof of wrongful termination. Then you can sue them for the big bucks.
This won't work. The OSHA regulations only apply to respirators, of which, N95 masks or P100 etc. are considered respirators and cloth face masks are not.
Source: 29 CFR 1910.134 and I've instituted respiratory protection along with HAZMAT training at my workplace.
Edit: To clarify, only company mandated respirators require fit tests. If a person voluntarily wears an N95 mask or filtering face mask, they are required to be given Appendix D or 1910.134 by the employer. Also, you can't voluntarily wear the SCBAs or anything like that (basically anything more than the n95 or p100). The company must have a respiratory protection program.
Be careful in a right to work state or an at will job. Meaning, you have a right to get fired any time for any reason. And you don't have to stay.
This phrase does not mean what you think it means.
It means you cant get fired or quit for any reason. Like balking about nazi masks
Not in any way is that what that means.
"In the context of US labor politics, "right-to-work laws" refers to state laws that prohibit union security agreements between employers and labor unions."
For real do this ^
ooooh, i heart this idea, severely!
MAGA_From_Heaven wins the internet for today!!
I'd wear one with a picture of one of the Neutral aliens from Futurama:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-bCIA_vyVc
How did the American flag become polarizing to Americans?
Blame the fucking communists that have taken over the country. And the idiot democrats and republicans who allowed it to happen.
IDEOLOGICAL SUBVERSION
https://ia600301.us.archive.org/25/items/BezmenovLoveLetterToAmerica/YuriBezmenov-LoveLetterToAmerica.pdf
I said to my friend yesterday that it is sad you can identify a Trump house by them having a US flag hanging proudly outside it. Lots of flags popping up around my area this past month. Front of lawns near the road for all to see uniformly.
Because these people hate the USA. In MN, we have high school graduations at some schools that don’t just have the American flag up. Nope, they have the Somali flag, the Mexican flag, etc. it is ridiculous. If you come to America, you can be proud of your heritage, but you should be proud to be American and not insulted by our flag, our traditions, our statues...
Disgusting.
Post WWIII, we will fix that.
You may not fly any flag other than the US flag, state flag, or other official government flag at any place receiving US government funding.
Or something like that.
Democrats
Kroger, who else. Took out hazard pay away and now this shit.
Tell some BLM wacko mob they said the N word at that store. It'll be looted in minutes.
Just make sure you're not on shift or call in sick that day. XD
LOL
Mariano's got really shitty after the Kroger takeover. Like really bad. That's when I got my Costco membership. Despite not owning a car and living within walking distance of a Mariano's. Somehow they got less quality grocery brand items but the prices went up double.
The Mariano's founder was actually going to start another chain, until covid happened. He'd probably be super successful, watch it grow and cash out again when another big name grocer buys them out.
I have a kroger across the street from my apartment, but I always drive 4 miles to Meijer. Haven't stepped into that place in months.
So Publix it is then
I only buy the BOGO stuff and buy the rest at local farmers market or Kroger.
This. If you are a smart BOGO shopper it ends up being cheaper then other stores like Piggly.
It's not even that difficult. there's always 4 or 5 different brands and one is always on sale cheap so grab that one (unless you know from experience it's crap). If none are on sale just do without.
Buy 2, put one away. Cousin from depression era instilled that in me young and its a good thing to do
They bought Harris teeter a few years ago and own a number of other regional chains. He'd be giving his location away by saying which
I got a job there when this all started. I'm already trying to get out.
Then go to work in an Uncle Sam costume. Fuck those commies. Jobs are coming back fast.
I might do that when I have something lined up. I'm doing interviews so that might be sooner than later. My money situation is too tight to do that without a backup.
THE FUCKING FLAG IS THE SYMBOL FOR ALL AMERICANS
Neutral? I would ask for an explanation of the policy. When it is incoherent, I'd continue to wear the mask. Some things just have to be questioned. This "policy" is certainly non-sense. If you replace the mask with a "neutral" type, I hope you red, white and blue evvrything else on your body. Maybe sneakers could be a start. See what the policy on footwear is.
Record all conversations using your cell phone. At least audio recordings!
Kroger will fire his ass just "cause" his eyes are the wrong color. He is truly in a slave relationship. he can not push back at all or he has no job.
Probably. Some hills are worth dying on. For me, the flag is one of those hills.
Of course I understand all of our circumstances are different. I thought changing from mask to sneakers, clothing or even pins could help him skirt the "policy".
If some spineless asshat in local management is going to him about the policy, he is already a "target". The management should have reminded the offendee that this IS America after all....
The Krogers around here are unionized.
You're not a slave when you can just get a job elsewhere.
Yes, agree, but thart is not so easy anymore.
It not being easy still doesn't qualify as slavery. At least you have the choice to work elsewhere, or hell you even have the choice to not work at all and live on the streets. Just look at CHAZ
But my grocery store gleefully lets their employers wear the rainbow flag as a mask... go figure. Honk... honk.
That is considered a gender-neutral pattern.
Honk Honk. They ruined rainbows.
Not for me. Still God's promise in my household!
And the rainbow bridge in Norse mythology
No shit. Pride month may soon circumvent Independence Day. Fuck Kroger’s. I hope this can be a story in whatever area OP is in. Maybe try to make it one if they are up for it. Really upsetting bullshit.
...neutral?
So essentially what they're saying is that the USA flag is now a political statement? Shows their power level.
Maybe they're scared a leftist will try to burn it while it's still on your face?
Ask for an understanding of how the flag was not neutral, especially around the nation's holiday. Don't be afraid to kick it up to corporate. Kroger is huge in states like Texas and it would be an absolute PR disaster for them to have word get out they were banning American flag stuff. There is a good chance this is just a local decision by a manager and you either need clarification explaining why or to go over their head to the store manager.
If store manager is the one saying this, email corporate HR.
This came down from corporate as an order, I’m working on getting the policy in my hands to document their idiocy
If you can get proof that this order came down from corporate, then you should go with what u/citizenpolitician suggested above and get them on OSHA violations.
It would cost them a fortune in testing alone.
Yep. OP if you're willing to document this, willing to fight and risk getting fired, this could be pretty big!
I’m willing, I have a wife and 3 kids but someone’s gotta stand up. My Great Uncle was a tail gunner on a B17 bomber in WW2. He didnt get shot at and shot down twice to let our flag be disrespected like this.
It’s not like you can’t sneeze and find a better job than a grocery store if you aren’t a complete retard.
Fuck them, record shit, go to the news and burn that shut down, then be a man and get out of a teenagers job.
Get into construction, plumbing, trucking, etc... fuck, if you aren’t old as shit or a total soiboi pussy, join the military.
keep us posted of how this develops, pede. This one's sort of a big deal.
Kroger website has a comments submission form. Theres nothing to stop a few hundred patriots from giving them a piece of yer mind.
Done. Gave them a nice, non antagonizing message expressing my contempt for an American company suppressing their employees ability to show their patriotism. Did it under my official Kroger account too.
Dont be a dick when you message, thats what they expect and they can use that to go "see, this policy was correct, look at all these vulgar bigots that are upset!"
I think the covid hoax will end November 4th. How can the American flag violate anything? It should be dispayed on the store.
Nope, he'll EO compulsory mask or Sharia Law, whichever is most efficient
It violates communism
LOL. Maybe it is.
The hoax ends when we say it ends. Stop wearing masks, boycott stores that mandate them.
Some “Karen” or “Ken” likely complained. I imagine your mask made a lot of people smile, and besides, it’s almost INDEPENDENCE DAY.
There are no Kens. Any "man" that would stoop to the level of a Karen has no testicles, and should just be called Karen.
Excellent point.
Huge display of red white and blue stuff when you walk in the door
Ask them to stop selling food that isn't neutral.
Only Farina and butter. Ban all else.
Butter? Butter?! You bigot.
Tofu and grow-your-own potted bluegrass, heavily laced with organic, environmentally friendly pesticides.
That's pathetic.
I can actually understand an employer asking for you not to wear a MAGA mask (Flame me all you want) but not the flag of our country.
I work for a grocery chain too. Last week they sent a memo allowing BLM attire.
is it a national chain and if so which one. so I can avoid it at all costs.
Easier said than done when your employer makes you.
I make 45k a year, so my job is worth keeping to me as I don’t really have other skills. But I get where you’re coming from.
Hope everything works out for you man. Dealing with a real Karen for a boss myself right now. Quitting your job isn’t as easy as people seem to think. I don’t have kids, but I can only imagine that’d compound the stress a few times.
To be clear, I wasn't talking talking about me. I was just giving a reason why many play along with this stuff.
Tell them it is neutral since we live in the US.
I realize this is a simple solution. Feign complete and utter ignorance. Make them explain themselves. And say simple and obviously true things. Make them feel as crazy as they are.
Just keep wearing it. Worst case is they fire you over stupid shit.
Tell them that July is American pride month, and you’re wearing the flag in honor of it. If they let people wear rainbows, or posted them themselves, then they’re already guilty of letting people express themselves politically and you’re being singled out for no reason.
It’s sad that the left has turned the US flag into a divisive issue. My opinion is if anybody hates our flag and what it stands for, then Mexico is just a catapult-ride away. Get rid of those motherfuckers.
July is White History Month.
Tell them wearing a mask goes against OSHA guidelines.
OSHA changed their rules stating cloth masks dont count as PPE
Then why are they being worn?
Tell every single person you talk to at work that you wanted and American flag mask and the store won’t let you
New job
Fucking commies...I would fight back, but that’s prob easy for me to say.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMl3snTDrIU
So do they enforce against BLM masks ?
They probably won’t allow the flag mask because if they did someone else would want to wear a BLM mask and cause problems. Better from their standpoint to just require everyone to wear same uniform mask. Publix got shit on by the local fake news for not allowing an employee to wear BLM mask, and I’m sure Kroger saw that and didn’t want the hassle.
ask them what flags you can wear...
What could be more neutral than an American Flag?
I would were a Communist one then see what they do. Then sue. LOL
The irony is I bought the flag from my store! We sold them!
Their website has a comment submission form... it would be a shame if a bunch of patriots gave Kroger a piece of their mind. It would also be a complete shame if I never stepped foot in their store again.
If you have one of these stores, they are part of the Kroger family:
Dillon's
Food 4 Less
Fred Meyer
Mariano's
QFC
Ralph's
Smith's
“gadsden flag face masks”
America 2020: ‘Americans not welcome here.’
The only reason the flag of the USA is political is because Democrats have declared war on it.
When Americans are offended by their flag, it is time for them to go somewhere that they don't find the flag offensive
The US flag is now a hate symbol. Plan to put one up at my house this weekend to combat the BLM signs.
Put ours up last night!
You can do what you want, but I was just speaking with another pede on this post...and this is what I would do.
Get this request in writing from Your manager. “Word of mouth” for such a thing is bullshit. Get an email, or a memo, signed by your manager. I’m guessing he won’t be willing to do this, in which case you can tell him to fuck right off and continue wearing whatever mask you want. This will prob piss him off some and would put you on a shit list. Me personally, I wouldn’t care about that
If he DOES put it in writing, you have some homework to do. You’d have to go through company policy to see if the request is in line with company policy. You might ha e to get a lawyer involved to sift through the legalese. You might have a lawsuit case against them.
Yeah you need to look at the employment handbook to see what it says about dress code policy. They can’t all of a sudden decide that an American flag mask is unacceptable. Are other employees permitted to wear clothing with “non-neutral” iconography?
I'd love to see this go to court. If the flag of the nation that you are actually in is offensive, then you aren't the one with the problem!
I could see wearing a German flag in France might be disturbing to people, or a Taiwan flag In China, but if a country's citizens aren't proud to display their own flag within their own country, then they shouldn't be citizens of that country!
I’m almost positive Kroger is in on this whole “kill off all white people” thing. Our town used to have two Kroger stores, one on the north side and one on the south end. They closed the south one even though it was actually very busy, leaving all the poor people on the south side without a store. I used it daily for lunch as it’s right across the street from my office. I had access to fresh fruits, vegetables and meats all cheaper than fast food. Now that it’s closed, all residents are stuck going to the north store. The north store is now packed to the max daily, at all times. This means if you want to fucking eat, you must go to the store and run into everyone you never wanted to see again. For me, a person with anxiety, this is the absolute worst thing they could have done. Now you’re probably thinking, why are you making this all about you? I’m not, I’m getting to the point. The point is, this 99% white town was turned upside by it. I feel it’s a way of the company sticking it to poor whites in an effort to turn them into democrats. I know not everyone has anxiety, but it’s still a major inconvenience. I believe they did it for two reasons: profit and to shake up the town and make life worse for the residents on the south end. This decision alone isn’t going to make them vote blue. However, constant fuckery from leftist corporations making everyone’s lives increasingly suck more is a strategy. Prove me wrong.
I love the way you described the situation. Fuck them.
You've got a leftist co-worker that hates you
Yep, welcome to Corporate America. The price you have to pay for a job nowadays is to avoid doing anything, anything at all, that COULD be interpreted as a political statement on the job which your employer COULD be forced to defend. They would rather just fire you.
I wholeheartedly support the right to speak freely on politics in public, which requires becoming anti-fragile. In the end, only leftist tapeworms really need a corporate job.
I wear my American flag mask at work and I get looks, even had a Trump thrown at me for some odd reason, but no one has said shit yet. If they do, then I'm out. I already drew my lines in the sand and I'm in a position of leverage, so I guess I'm good for now.
Good luck OP. I wish you the best!
what the eff is a "neutral pattern" ?
Nice response in edit 2. Let them put it on paper so they can suffer the consequences of all the attention it will draw. There are way more pro-American Americans than not. Fuck your employers; hope you seek better employment soon.
Wear an American flag pin
I would sincerely tell them to go F themselves and continue to wear the American Flag mask. I'd love to see them try to fire you for that.
Ah yes, the ole “US flag is offensive to foreigners and minorities” bit again.
Tell them if they hate America so much they can 滚开 right the fuck to the grand emperor.
The American flag — in america and around July 4 — is neutral.
Some Karen called corporate.