Starbucks has installed needle-disposal boxes in bathrooms in at least 25 markets as the chain attempts to address workers' safety concerns.
By this summer, the coffee giant plans to have installed sharps boxes in bathrooms in all regions where such action was deemed necessary.
"We are always working and listening to our partners on ways we can better support them when it comes to issues like these," Starbucks representative Reggie Borges said in an email to Business Insider. Six Starbucks employees who spoke with Business Insider asked to remain anonymous in order to speak frankly.An uncapped needle that a Starbucks worker said she found in the trash in December 2018.According to the Seattle Starbucks worker and other employees at the coffee giant who have worked in urban locations, encountering syringes on the job is often a fact of life.
Starbucks provides training for employees on how to safely deal with hypodermic needles, including instructions for how to safely dispose of garbage and what to do in case of a needle-prick injury. Sharps kits have long been available in Starbucks locations — albeit not installed in bathrooms — as stores have the option to order a sharps kit along with their first-aid kits.
Worry over needle sticks had reached such intensity at the Eugene Starbucks that a second employee filed a complaint after the Oregon OSHA had already begun investigating the situation. Starbucks was penalized $3,100 in the investigation, according to documents viewed by Business Insider, with the Oregon OSHA issuing fines for five violations in January 2019.
Starbucks also updated its training processes and an exposure-control plan related to blood-borne pathogens.As the Oregon OSHA was investigating the Eugene location, Starbucks employees at other locations across the US were facing similar problems. A number of employees who spoke with Business Insider said that they felt safety issues grew more serious after Starbucks announced an open-bathroom policy in May 2018.
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