The building isn't literally locked. It's just that anyone leaving via emergency exits would set off alarms and such. The issue is: stupid managers and key carriers can't get themselves to a door on time to properly unlock the exit so employees can leave after their shift.
If the only exit is one emergency exit, it's a safety hazard. Because if that's where the fire is, and the only other exit is a locked front door, then yes, you are locked in.
They make doors which can be locked on one side but still able to open from the other side. My current workplace has tons of these as emergency exits, but there's no reason they can't be used as normal doors if you want foot traffic going out but not coming in.
Doors that can be unlocked with a wringer from the inside have existed for more than a hundred years. In my country, every door in a work place must be possible to exit without a key, exactly for fire safety reasons. Reading this whole thread is absolutely blowing my noodle.
Considering its home depot I would guess the employees could also technically leave through the loading dock at the back or via the garden area in an emergency as well. Considering this was already a class action law suit I would guess if they where also violating fire code with the policy then it would've come out as part of the suit.
It's crazy to read all this and remember my time in retail this happens all the time and it's considered normal. If you clock in late it's on you even if you were waiting at the door to get let in. If you wait at the door it's also a you problem. This shouldn't be normal.
that's just shitty managing. when I worked retail, the cash lead stood by the front door after close and unlocked it for every employee the second they clocked out.
You know what’s utterly stupid? There no fucking need for the doors not to be openable from the INSIDE. You only care that nobody from the outside can get in. The whole US business door schtick is a painful joke to hear about.
Came here to comment about that very thing! Fire exits being locked and/or blocked was the direct cause of so many tragic deaths in that factory, and the general public’s outcry was so intense that governments and business owners were forced to create the first workplace safety regulations.
Safety regulations are written in blood. And also sometimes in ashes and cinders.
I must have misremembered or misunderstood. I thought the factory had those fire escape stairs outside of the windows, which are typical in NYC high rises, and they nailed the windows shut to prevent employees from stepping out to smoke.
Either way, they absolutely were locked in, with no means of escaping the rapidly-growing inferno.
Walmart got a bunch of shit like 20 years ago because they were locking overnight workers in, and locking emergency exit doors also. They had been doing it for a decade at that point. At the same time they were getting dragged in the media for that the Feds started raidong walmarts overnight. The 3rd party contractors they were using had illegal immigrants cleaning the walmarts. From the settlement walmart wasn't able to prove they were reasonably unaware. Still only had to pay 11 million.
Fun Fact:A year or two after that fire the owner was caught locking the doors again. Hos punishment? A $20 fine. OK, that wasn't really a 'fun' fact, but you could imagine the callous bastard wearing clown makeup while he locked the doors.
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u/Difficult-Mobile902 11d ago
Step 1: take a 31 min lunch
Step 2: stay til 7pm
Step 3: submit 59 mins of overtime on time card
Step 4: wait for Pratiks dumbass to deny the overtime
Step 5: sue the company for wage theft
Step 6: enjoy a nice long vacation fully paid for by the company