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AITA for Getting Suspended from My HVAC Job for Refusing Mandatory TikToks? It’s clear why I quit my job: the pay was too low, and the work was grueling. Earning just $15 an hour for professional work in California is simply not acceptable. My boss bluntly told me that I wasn’t worth even a dollar more. Fortunately, I’ve secured a new job starting in January that offers $5-8 more per hour and involves much less demanding tasks.
Currently, I’m in the process of reaching out to an employment law firm to explore whether I have a legal case against my former employer. My employment agreement never mentioned anything about TikTok or the so-called “team-building exercises” they required us to participate in.
EDIT: Here’s an interesting side story. When COVID-19 was rampant at my workplace, I believed I had contracted the virus. I went for testing, and both rapid tests came back negative. However, I never received the results of my PCR test. Despite feeling quite ill, my boss relentlessly pressured me to come to work. To be thorough, I took two more PCR tests and obtained a doctor’s note advising me to stay home.
My boss, however, dismissed my concerns, insisting that the negative rapid test results were more valid than my symptoms and the doctor’s recommendation. We had a heated argument about the reliability of rapid tests versus PCR tests. Eventually, he conceded that I was correct about the rapid tests’ inaccuracy but still accused me of overreacting.
Three days later, the results of my PCR tests confirmed that I was positive for COVID-19. This revelation was particularly infuriating given that my boss had been hospitalized for COVID-19 the previous year.
During this period, I was expected to enter various apartments to install furnaces. The potential risk of spreading the virus, especially to vulnerable and elderly residents, was enormous. My boss’s reckless decision to push me to work despite my symptoms showed a blatant disregard for health and safety.
If I hadn’t trusted my instincts and insisted on further testing, I could have endangered numerous people. This incident was the final straw, leading me to lose all respect for my boss and his mismanaged business. It underscored the toxic environment I had been enduring and reinforced my decision to leave for a better opportunity.
More info: Reddit
AITA for Getting Suspended from My HVAC Job for Refusing Mandatory TikToks?
Needless to say, I quit. I was fed up with the low pay and hard work. Earning $15 an hour for professional work in California is ridiculous. My boss said I wasn’t worth any more than that. Luckily, I start a new job in January that pays $5-8 more and is much easier.
Right now, I’m trying to contact an employment lawyer to see if I have a case. My employment agreement didn’t mention TikTok or the so-called “team-building exercises” they made us do.
EDIT: Here’s a side story. When COVID-19 was spreading at my workplace, I thought I had caught it. I got tested, and both rapid tests were negative, but my PCR results never came. I was feeling pretty sick, but my boss kept pushing me to come in. So, I got two more PCR tests and a doctor’s note. My boss still insisted that my negative rapid tests outweighed my symptoms and the doctor’s note.
We argued about the accuracy of rapid tests, and he eventually admitted I was right but claimed I was just psyching myself out. Three days later, both PCR tests came back positive. This is the same boss who was hospitalized for COVID last year. I was supposed to be going in and out of people’s apartments installing furnaces during this time. His decision to take such a risk was very irresponsible. If I hadn’t trusted my gut, I could’ve harmed many people, especially the elderly. That’s when I lost all respect for him and his business.
Let’s swiftly assess a handful of the top comments: AITA for Getting Suspended from My HVAC Job for Refusing Mandatory TikToks?
lukas_the writes:
Nowhere in your contract does it say that you will have to be used as a free form of advertisement. I love how they are acting like its a team building exercise yet its clearly an attempt to spread the word of the company.
RobotWelder writes:
How we in the construction trades are treated has got to fucking change. Fuck these companies, we’re not slaves.
PrismosPickleJar writes:
What sort of fucking hvac job pays $15. I’m on $32 currently plumbing but with hvac certs.
Gadew64 writes:
Too many comments…. Do any include the company name so that people can avoid having it work in their homes? Totally lost interest in how much everyone makes while this dangerous company is still allowed to exist.
