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Most people don’t expect their breakfast pastry to become the center of a workplace investigation. But for one maintenance worker, a few poppy seed kolaches apparently caused more drama than anyone could have anticipated.

The employee works for a company he describes as dangerously lax about safety. According to him, proper protective equipment is often unavailable, safety training is practically nonexistent, and workers are expected to follow questionable instructions from management.

Unfortunately, he says he can’t afford to quit without another job lined up.

Then he was injured at work.

After a trip to the emergency room and a mandatory drug test, he returned to his regular schedule, assuming the worst was behind him.

Instead, human resources called with some unexpected news: he’d failed the drug test.

His explanation? The poppy seed pastries he’d been eating and sharing with coworkers.

What followed involved questioning other employees, discussions about potentially firing him and an eventual suspension.

But the strangest part might be that the suspension wasn’t officially about the pastries at all.

I eat poppyseed kollache, got hurt, and here’s my story

I got hurt, even still had the kolsches on my desk.

this company doesn’t do safety or loto, they don’t even provide tags or a harnesses for lifts. in aware, I’m lining for another job. stop belittling me, I came afford to not work or not listen to the horrible ideas the boss has.

They take me to ER, then drug test, and I go home, come back to work next day. What happens next: i failed the drug drug test, hr called me in my day off to ask if i took any undisclosed medications. I only told them I hate poppyseed kollaches, and shared them with our department, everyone ate some.

A likely story…

Apparently, I rolled over to 7 straight nights, while I was on nights, they called everyone into HR to comfirm that, they threatened new with extensive testing of my pee (during the call), supervisor called everyone into his office for a meeting to determine firing me. Wtf

Then after my nights were over, i get told they suspended me for 2 days on my day shifts. So I ended up with a week off, still got my attendance bonus too.

They ordered me off the clock then go to HR( yes that’s what happened, when said I would be fired of I didn’t clock out, this place already does illegal time clock rounding), then proceeded to tell me because I didn’t follow lockout yag out that in suspended for 2 days.

Wow.

I think the hospital visit was enough, but whatever. Lock out tag out on equipment that only has an on off switch. I just didn’t turn it off and worked in something irrelevant to that, can’t lock out 99℅ of equipment because of the way the off switches are designed. Plus they don’t even provide safety training

Yes in looking for another job, have been for years. I really wished they would have terminated me so I should have sued for the heck they put me though over legal kollaches

yes, I still eat then. nobody else will touch them though, boss is furious I still eat them and made fun of me for it

He’s just jealous.

they would have suspended me earlier probably, but I am of only 4 people in the maintenance department and only 2 of us are capable of working night shift. (that’s another reason why in leaving, so I literally work 7-12s every other week and no weekends, this shouldn’t be legal)

we are not taking about the machine, that’s not what we are talking about. this company actively refused to get equipment to properly troubleshoot safely and has fired people for being safe.

we are not talking about this. im aware, I’m trying to find a new job.

While the employee clearly believes his workplace has serious safety problems, readers weren’t exactly rushing to take his side. In fact, many found his account so confusing and difficult to follow that figuring out what actually happened became a challenge in itself.

The scattered timeline, repeated complaints and insistence that certain details weren’t up for discussion didn’t help his case. And although the poppy seed explanation for a failed drug screening isn’t necessarily impossible, it wasn’t the biggest concern people identified.

Instead, readers focused on his admission that he worked on equipment without turning it off. His employer may have inadequate safety procedures, but that doesn’t automatically excuse ignoring basic precautions. If anything, working in an unsafe environment makes taking available safety measures even more important.

His frustration about the company’s practices might be justified, but he seemed unwilling to acknowledge how his own decisions contributed to the situation. Dismissing questions about the equipment while insisting management was entirely responsible made it difficult to sympathize.

Ultimately, the employee may have legitimate grievances worth pursuing, but his confusing explanation and refusal to accept any accountability undermined his argument considerably.

This person says the consequences were necessary.

This person says this post even sounds suspicious.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a burned-out employee who finds a way to ease his stress with an extended daily lunch.

And this person agrees wholeheartedly…

He blamed the poppy seeds for the drug test, his boss for the safety issues, and apparently left no room for a little personal accountability.