There’s something very bizarre going on inside Stellantis’ headquarters in Auburn Hills, Michigan, and it’s not some harebrained, half-baked product this time. Instead, it’s some sort of widespread, wide-ranging health concern. Apparently, Michigan health and safety regulators have inspected the expansive campus after getting reports that “dozens” of employees were suffering from various ailments after returning to the office five days a week.
Folks have complained of nose bleeds, migraines, vomiting, skin issues, digestive issues, coughing and tiredness. All of this is likely tied to, gulp, mold. Employees have also seen black dust, mice, rats, a general mustiness and several flooding incidents. Following an inspection back in February, the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration didn’t cite Stellantis, but it did issue a list of recommendations focused on ensuring healthy air quality and preventing mold. From The Detroit News:
“Stellantis continually prioritizes the health, safety and well‑being of our employees,” a statement from spokesperson Jodi Tinson said. “As part of our standard practice, we regularly assess our workplaces to ensure they meet or exceed safety and environmental standards. Recent assessments within the office areas confirmed a safe working environment. Ongoing housekeeping enhancements and preventive maintenance are in place to support employee comfort and well‑being.”
Employee reports of environmental health concerns inside the 1990s-era Stellantis headquarters building come as the white-collar workforce recently was required to return to the office five days per week.
Such MIOSHA complaints at office buildings and plants aren’t altogether rare, including for Stellantis rivals GM and Ford. But the Stellantis report is notable given that it raised several health concerns about the automaker’s headquarters just as the company seeks to bring more workers back to the office.
Previously, the company championed a flexible work policy allowing for a majority of time to be spent at home. But early last year, it asked workers to be in-office at least three days per week. And in January, it announced the new five-day policy that fully took effect March 30. The company explained that “bringing teams together to build stronger connections is a competitive necessity.”
Stellantis told MIOSHA it had sought to prepare the building for employees’ safe return by cleaning, flushing and upgrading air filtration systems. It also conducted air quality and mold testing.
From what employees in the building have said, whatever Stellantis did wasn’t nearly enough, and the building is still nasty enough on the inside to make people sick just being there.
[C]ompany representatives told regulators that they began receiving complaints as soon as workers started returning a year ago, and the number of complaints “have been significant” since the five-day mandate came down. The topic came up at a recent company town hall.
The employee complaint sent to MIOSHA in February alleged that “employees continue complaining about a multitude of illnesses and strange symptoms and are being forced to work from the building every day despite their complaints and evidence showing presence of mold, and medical proof they are sick.
[…]
Stellantis previously told employees that the air quality test results were satisfactory across the facility. MIOSHA inspectors wrote that the company’s testing had found “slightly elevated” mold spore counts when compared to outdoor samples, but that the results “generally were considered acceptable for indoor air quality.”
Stellantis indicated to the agency that the slightly higher indoor mold spore levels might be due to the facility’s indoor plants.
During February’s inspection, which covered several parts of the 15-story tower, MIOSHA said they didn’t find evidence of leaks or moisture “that would suggest sources of indoor mold growth may be present in the facility.” Of course, the agency also noted that it doesn’t have a standard or published limits for safe levels of mold exposure, and it closed the investigation earlier this month.
I really cannot say what’s going on here, but clearly, there’s an issue if employees are getting physically sick by being in the office. I know that no one wants to be in the office five days a week, but I sort of doubt they’re going to make themselves vomit over it. Hopefully, Stellantis gets this issue taken care of, or, at the very least, the state of Michigan actually holds it responsible.
