Am I wrong for putting peanuts in my food and not putting an allergen label on it, knowing that the food thief is allergic?
So, my office recently got a new hire, Omar. He’s a young Muslim guy, fresh out of college, and ever since he was onboarded, my food has been going missing. I mention his religion because I’m also Muslim and it’s hard to find Halal food on short notice, and it’s been really difficult not having food to eat because it’s been stolen. My theory is that he stole my food because I’m the only obviously Muslim one in the office (I wear a hijab and have mentioned going to mosque), and he knows that my food is ok to eat. I’ve tried talking to him about this, but he always plays dumb and denies knowing anything about my missing meals. As the title says, Omar is allergic to peanuts.
On Friday, I brought leftovers which included Peanuts. I made sure to label the package clearly with my name, but I didn’t think to include any label about it having peanuts in it. No one else in the office uses allergen labels for their food; it didn’t even cross my mind.
When I got to the fridge and realized my food was once again missing, I rushed to Omar’s desk where I of course found him eating my food, and I told him that the lunch that he stole had peanuts in it. His eyes got really wide and he went for his epipen, and thank goodness he injected himself before the reaction got really bad.
After Omar got done panicking about his reaction, he blew up at me. He said that I could have killed him, and I said that he wouldn’t have been in danger if he wasn’t a liar and a thief. He told me that it was my fault for not putting an allergen label on the packaging, and I said that I’m lactose intolerant, but I don’t expect everyone to put labels on their dairy because I don’t steal other people’s food! He said that that’s different because milk won’t kill me, and I said it was the same principle. HR has ruled in my favor, but now requires allergen labels on all foods, and the entire office is mad at me, not just for the inconvenience of the labels, but because I “targeted” Omar and “tried to kill him”. Now I feel bad, am I in the wrong here?
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This tale by u/One_Newspaper5657 is actually wild. OP’s office is wrong, people being upset at OP for the inconvenience of labeling food? They should definitely not be upset at OP, they should be upset at Omar and HR. I might would just find a different place to work. Omar’s reaction is crazy, but also reckless, having a deathly allergy and gambling someone else’s food is safe to eat.. this is a crazy one.
What’s your take?
