Can I sue my employer over bed bugs at work?

by Tina
(Granite City, IL)

Can I sue my job for stress and anxiety? I've been dealing with bed bugs at work for a year. The company didn't tell me about the ongoing problem when I was hired. Now we have to wear Tyvek suits, which is uncomfortable and humiliating. I'm taking medication for anxiety, and several coworkers' homes have had to be treated.

Editor Response

Hi Tina,

We're not lawyers, so please talk with an employment attorney or your state's workers' compensation office about whether you have a claim. You're not alone in how this feels. Research has linked living with bed bugs to anxiety and sleep problems. Practical steps that help: keep records of the problem and how it affects you, ask your employer in writing what treatment is being done, and keep your belongings at work in sealed plastic bins. When you get home, put your work clothes straight into a hot dryer for at least 30 minutes, and check your bags. OSHA's sanitation standard requires employers to run an effective pest control program when insects are found in the workplace, and OSHA accepts complaints about workplace conditions.