For the past months, shoppers and workers at the Family Dollar store near Charleston Boulevard and Lindell have been dealing with no A/C.
That's because the air conditioning units behind the store were attacked by copper thieves. The thieves broke through a fence and completely stripped and gutted the units, causing at least $50,000 worth of damage, and meaning they will have to be replaced.
In the meantime, there's a warning note on the front of store letting people know there's no working A/C.
It's gotten so bad, the workers have to have several fans running next to the cash registers, and they've had to throw away some of their food, including candies that were melting.
"They don't pay them enough to suffer like that," says shopper Jacqueline Romero. Romero and several others we spoke with say they used to be regular shoppers since its near their homes, but the heat inside makes them avoid wanting to shop there.
There were no security cameras where the thefts happened, but managers told 13 Action News they're planning to install some along with the new units.
But it's unclear when that will happen. We reached out to Family Dollar's corporate office, but they didn't get back to us.
Meanwhile, while it's an uncomfortable situation for workers and shoppers, it may not be illegal. According to Nevada OSHA, workers can make complaints about working in hot conditions, but so far none have. But when it comes to requiring air conditioning in stores, they're not required like they are in apartments. The City of Las Vegas says they have no ordinances on the books requiring store to have A/C.
But customers say in the meantime, until it's fixed, they'll take their business elsewhere. "We have to vote with our pocketbooks," Romero says.
