14 DAY TRIAL // Popular wisdom tell us that when you gotta go... you gotta go. There is no stalling for indefinite periods of time, and no getting around it. Still, if you happen to be at work when the urge to visit the loo strikes, surely you can find a way to make it to the bathroom.
Unless you work at a regional US Environmental Protection Agency office in Denver, Colorado, in which case it looks like you can pretty much go when and where you please. Or so employees here seem to think.
Not to beat about the bush, media reports say that, earlier this year, Deputy Regional Administrator Howard Cantor was forced to send a rather peculiar internal email. Simply put, he had to specifically ask employees not to poop in the hallway.
Government Executive has obtained this email, and tells us that it references several incidents that one would find it very difficult to believe would ever come to happen in an office building, especially one run by the Environmental Protection Agency.
Thus, Howard Cantor's email mentions that, at one point, human poop was found on one of the hallways of this regional office in Denver. Besides, the Administrator writes that, on several occasions, somebody deliberately clogged toilets by stuffing them with paper towels.
Needless to say, efforts are now being made to identify the culprits and hold them responsible for their actions. “Management is taking this situation very seriously and will take whatever actions are necessary to identify and prosecute these individuals,” Howard Cantor says in a statement.
Not at all surprisingly, the Environmental Protection Agency is not exactly open to conversations on this topic. Thus, when asked to comment on these incidents, Richard Mylott, a spokesperson for the Agency, says, “EPA cannot comment on ongoing personnel matters.”
Information shared with the public suggests that, looking to solve this problem, the folks in charge of running the regional office in Denver have contacted John Nicoletti, who is said to be an expert in cases of workplace violence.
Apparently, this John Nicoletti is quite convinced that those who clogged the toilets and left poop in the hallways are rather dangerous individuals, and that it is very likely that they will soon start acting out in more aggressive ways than they have until now.
Commenting on the decision to ask for John Nicoletti's help, Agency spokesperson Richard Mylott explains, “Our brief consultation with Dr. Nicoletti on this matter, a resource who regularly provides our office with training and expertise on workplace issues, reflects our commitment to securing a safe workplace.”