MANDARIN, Fla. — The heat is on in Jacksonville… and for customers and employees at a TJ Maxx in Jacksonville’s Mandarin area.
While Jacksonville’s “feels like” temperatures have approached 110 degrees in just the last week and continue to blaze on, the TJ Maxx store off San Jose Boulevard continues to struggle with non-functioning air conditioning. According to customer Google reviews for the store, the issue has continued now for at least a month.
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Action News Jax visited inside of the store Thursday morning as the store was opening and felt the mild, but slightly stuffy conditions.
Meanwhile, Valerie Aquino shopped in the store just last week with her daughter later in the day. Aquino says the heat then was utterly unbearable.
“We didn’t stay. It was very hot in there. Very hot. Like just walking through, as I was walking out, I was sweating,” said Aquino. “It was unbearable.”
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Now, the store’s managers and operators are taking steps to improve conditions, as they’ve been adding portable AC units throughout the store. However, customers say the machines have done little to cool things down.
“When you stood right in front of it and it blew on you, yes [it helped]. But as soon as you walked away, then no,” Aquino told Action News Jax Thursday morning.
“Not at all, unless you’re standing right in front of it with the air flowing at you,” said Gina Erickson, who shopped in the store on Wednesday. “Because the motor was making it hot.”
Meanwhile, even in Florida during the summer, there is no federal regulation requiring businesses to keep it cool. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s website, OSHA “has no regulations specifically addressing temperature and humidity in an office setting.”
As a result, employees are left to simply sweat it out until a permanent fix.
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“I asked the girl when I checked out … she asked me how my day was, and I said ‘I can’t imagine yours’. And she just kind of rolled her eyes, she didn’t say much,” Erickson said.
As store managers continued to add even more portable AC units Thursday morning, Action News Jax asked the store’s manager on duty for a timeline of permanent repairs. He could not provide a timeline but referred Action News Jax to the company’s media hotline for a statement. Action News Jax has since reached out and is waiting for a response.
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