Q Have you ever dealt with an extreme case of employee flatulence disrupting the workplace and causing coworkers to get sick and vomit? We have a situation right now in which a disabled employee is on a mix of medications that causes extreme flatulence. There have been numerous employee complaints, and more than one coworker has become very ill. There is no way to restructure the work assignments or job duties, as all of our employees in the area must work in close proximity on a packaging line. 
We have had some constructive meetings with the employee, but he just doesn’t understand the seriousness of the situation, and his treating physicians indicate there is no other medication mix that can accommodate his medical issues without this unfortunate side effect and no reasonably affordable medication to reduce the extreme flatulence. Just wondering if you have any advice for us in dealing with this issue.
A Unfortunately, there is no simple or easy answer or solution to your question and predicament. In your situation, you must balance two competing and conflicting interests—namely, your duty to attempt to accommodate the situation with your disabled employee versus your obligation to provide a safe and healthy workplace for all of your employees, including the coworkers who must work closely with this individual.
However, I will suggest a number of options you can explore to attempt to address and resolve these issues:
- Work with the employee and his physicians or a qualified dietitian to explore changes in his diet to generate less gastrointestinal disturbance. Apparently, bacterial fermentation of carbohydrates is a primary contributor to intestinal gas. This may not alleviate your situation, but it’s certainly worth exploring.
- Examine whether it’s possible to realign the employees on your packaging line to isolate the issue, and explore whether you can use fans or other air circulation equipment to lessen the undesirable impact on other employees. There are also some special fans on the market that are equipped with a room deodorizer that dispenses desirable scents, e.g., vanilla.
- Provide the employee with some additional accommodations by granting him the ability to take additional and more frequent restroom breaks.
- There are some special undergarments on the market that contain a filter that in theory addresses this issue and abates some of the problem. I’m also aware of one situation in which an employee agreed with his employer to wear Depends undergarments equipped with deodorant to mask the undesirable odors, combined with heavy microfiber thermal underwear over the undergarments, which provided additional remedial reduction of the problem.
In the end, however, you have an obligation to provide all of your employees with a safe and healthy work environment, and if employees are still becoming ill or vomiting after working around this individual, you may have to bring the entire situation to a head and explore other alternatives. That could include the potential of transferring the employee to another position within your company for which he is qualified and in which he can perform the essential functions of the position. Or if all else fails, assist the employee with locating another employment position wherein his extreme flatulence doesn’t create such a hardship and negative impact on his coworkers.
Mark Schorr is a partner with Erickson & Sederstrom, P.C., where he is chairman of the law firm’s Labor and Employment Law Practice Group. He may be contacted at schorr@eslaw.com.
I can see where this could be a serious problem in some settings. As a person who experiences the disability of Chemical Sensitivities, however, I do respectfully take exception to your suggestion to use fans that disperse air fresheners or deodorizers. If there are employees who are sensitive to those things or who have asthma or other respiratory problems, that could cause adverse even life threatening reactions and symptoms. That is not a healthy alternative to the situation.
Really? It’s a fart. Tell them to get over it. It would be one thing if he physically holds their faces to his butt and lets it rip. Come on.
Try air ionization. These are often used to freshen the air in stale areas. Alternatively, exhaust air from the production area. It seems apparent, there is insufficient air movement or exchange in this area.