My Job has Bed Bugs

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I was first bitten on the job three weeks ago, I didn't see the bug but looking at the bites you could tell what they are. I work in a Call Center where we've been dealing with this for the entire summer. We have been telling management and even bringing the bugs we caught to them but they refused to do anything about it till we called OSHA.

Then they finally started to send us to their doctor once we got bit and sent home.

The last time I was at work I got bit again and didn't want to say anything as one of the girls got fired for complaining and going to our employers doctor as her did not fully clear her seeing her bites were numerous and could get infected and she got fired and it was not considered excused.

So than I saw a bed bug crawling, I couldn't move but I was able to raise my phone and take a picture. I showed it to my supervisor she told me to move to another cubical and I tried not to make a big deal and be quiet about it. I was literally frozen for 15 minutes and couldn't move standing.

All of a sudden I ask Team Lead where the manager was, she tells me she is in an interview. I was beyond upset and couldn't speak in sentences as I was upset. I went to management and they treated me as if I was infected which I was and had to go through a walk of shame it seems.

I got new clothes and sent back to their doctor.

Our HR after we ALL called OSHA and tried to make a report and they found out came on our call center floor and blasted us for going there and how this situation is, "our fault"....

I really wish I could quit my job

Ugh, what a terrible situation! Unpleasant enough having to work in a place that is infested and also getting bitten but being treated poorly because you and others reported the issue? I try to think on the bright? side of these kinds of situations with jobs. At least you know now if you didn't before what utterly horrible management and the company is. Their HR team sounds like real winners too. You know that the company is not one to stay at. Now you can slowly try to find another job (if you choose to do so) and get out of that terrible environment.

I hope you won't accidentally carry the bed bugs into your home.

Unfortunately I was raised in a really gross home where I had no control over anything but my room.

For bed bugs, this probably happened because they have carpet. And maybe cloth-backed cubes? I can't see how else the bed bugs could travel from person to person. To get rid of them, your workplace has to tear up the rugs and get rid of the cubes, and then I think fumigate. But definitely get rid of ALL cloth objects. They probably won't.

If you can't quit and they won't do anything this is what you can do to drastically minimize your risk of taking them back to your place.

Have a couple sets of clothes, including shoes, that you wear ONLY at work. Change in the bathroom right before you go in and out of the building. DO NOT go in your car with the clothes worn at work. Keep your hair up, if it's long. I recommend a bun. Keep the clothes for work in a plastic bag and keep that bag in a plastic bin, in the trunk of your car.

Take a hot shower and wash your hair daily, as soon as you get home. It helps to have a non-carpeted floor at home and to wash all cloth objects, like bedclothes and slipcovers for furniture, frequently. Say, once a week. Maybe twice a week for sheets if you have a machine in your house or apartment building. If you do have carpet, vacuum every day. What you're looking for is a single bug or an egg that caught on you at work. Just one could cause trouble. These measures will probably catch a single bug or egg.

You actually can stay bug free yourself if you're vigilant, but it will require a lot of effort. There are certain kinds of bugs that I can't look at, even on TV, or I have nightmares for days. It's just no way to live. You should try to find a new job. I'm sorry this happened to you, and the other workers. Your employers are jerks.

I agree with SocOfAutism, you really REALLY don't want to accidentally bring home bedbugs. They are a massive (and expensive) pain to get rid of once you get them in the house, plus having a house infestation is known to drive people into misery, depression, and even suicide.

Hopefully there will be a way for you to get out of there eventually. That place sounds horrible.

You didn't do anything wrong. The problem is management and they are upset for the same reason school bullies get upset when they are told on. They did something wrong and are going to get in trouble for it.

Document the bedbug infestation in your office. If they have infested your home and belongings, document that as well, get a lawyer, and see if you can get the company to compensate you for any expenses you have incurred because of these bedbugs. Also, find another place to work. I'm sure there are other call centers in the area.

Update: I got a new job a couple months after this happened. I had a former co worker bring me biohazard bags and put my work shirt in there since they wanted them and and my work id and poured alcohol in there.