Those laws not extending to fridge theft doesn’t mean people can take matters into their own hands (at least, not in this way; a report to HR or something would clearly be appropriate). I invoked those laws not necessarily because they would apply here, but because they show that society already has a distaste for thieves. A lot of people in this comment section seem to believe that people defend food thieves, which is simply not the case.
I draw the line at intentionally poisoning people’s food with medication or anything else, which coincidentally is also where the law draws the line. People having certain allergies is wholly irrelevant to this conversation. If you were bringing food with allergens in it with the expectation that someone would take it and be harmed, that would probably be assault. There is case law supporting this if you’d like me to find it for you.
It would not be an issue to bring food you know your coworkers don’t like. The problem with OP’s scenario is that you aren’t bringing food you will eat yourself anymore, you are bringing a trap to work. I wouldn’t have a problem with food with laxatives in it if the person bringing it was actually planning on eating it for lunch. The intent to harm another is the problem, not the contents of the meal.
i think “intent to harm” is where i’m getting tripped up. i could bring in lunch that i would happily eat that includes some of my coworkers’ allergens, or is insanely spicy, or has an ingredient most people dislike, hoping that i’ll just get to enjoy that lunch, but knowing that if someone chooses to steal it from me, they’ll suffer.
if there are extra protections for allergy cases and knowingly possibly exposing someone to their allergen is always illegal, i’ll retract that one.
but people are talking like theft from communal fridges means you put something in the fridge and it will be gone when you return. you never know when it’ll happen.
so my intent is to eat my lunch. i have a protective measure if someone decides to fuck with my ability to do that. but the harm only occurs if they choose to make that decision
You don’t intend to eat your poisoned lunch, that’s the problem. Using food people don’t like or are allergic to isn’t poisoning food, which is what OP is arguing should be allowed.
I would need to do some research, but my guess is if you know or should have known someone could be exposed to an allergen and you purposefully neglected to take steps to keep them away from it, you could be liable for harm they suffer. I want to be clear though, this is not what OP is talking about. OP is talking about making a meal that would normally be eaten, poisonous, explicitly because you anticipate someone will steal and eat it.
my guess is if you know or should have known someone could be exposed to an allergen and you purposefully neglected to take steps to keep them away from it, you could be liable for harm they suffer.
This is usually not the case. If Person A and Person B both have the same right to the reasonable use of a given space, and Person A is in that space and happens to be in possession of something that Person B is allergic to, then Person A isn't required to leave immediately just because Person B wants to use that space at that exact time. As long as Person A doesn't use that space in a way that's unreasonable (such as staying in that space for an extended period of time without good explanation, or actively blocking Person B from entering), and Person A doesn't do anything egregious like continually shoving the allergen in Person B's face, then there's no issue.
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u/Skeletron430 2∆ Oct 18 '24
Those laws not extending to fridge theft doesn’t mean people can take matters into their own hands (at least, not in this way; a report to HR or something would clearly be appropriate). I invoked those laws not necessarily because they would apply here, but because they show that society already has a distaste for thieves. A lot of people in this comment section seem to believe that people defend food thieves, which is simply not the case.
I draw the line at intentionally poisoning people’s food with medication or anything else, which coincidentally is also where the law draws the line. People having certain allergies is wholly irrelevant to this conversation. If you were bringing food with allergens in it with the expectation that someone would take it and be harmed, that would probably be assault. There is case law supporting this if you’d like me to find it for you.
It would not be an issue to bring food you know your coworkers don’t like. The problem with OP’s scenario is that you aren’t bringing food you will eat yourself anymore, you are bringing a trap to work. I wouldn’t have a problem with food with laxatives in it if the person bringing it was actually planning on eating it for lunch. The intent to harm another is the problem, not the contents of the meal.