Sacramento County workers, some at risk, return to the office as COVID-19 cases rise
Thousands of Sacramento County workers, including some who are particularly vulnerable to the coronavirus, are set to return to work Monday even as COVID-19 cases continue to grow across the region and public health officials caution against large gatherings indoors.
About 2,800 Sacramento County employees — about one in four employees — have received paid administrative leave since March. That includes non-essential workers, and those either over the age of 65 or with proven existing health issues, putting them at a higher risk for severe reaction to the coronavirus.
Now that’s coming to an end. As part of the statewide phased reopening plan lifting stay-at-home rules, Sacramento County began allowing employees to return to offices and workplaces under a new health order Friday.
But county workers and union officials say they are deeply concerned that the county is moving too fast, and that several facilities and workplaces have yet to establish health guidelines and building modification that will keep employees safe.
“We understand bringing them back, we’re not arguing that point, but we want to make sure they’re safe,” said Ted Somera, executive director of United Public Employees. “The lack of preparedness from the county is what is the problem.”
At the beginning of June, the Department of Personnel Services notified departments that workers on paid administrative leave who cannot work from home would be expected to return to work in June. Sacramento County is one of the largest employers in the region.
To prepare for the influx of returning workers, departments were required to submit to Personnel Services written COVID-19 protection plans specific to the buildings and facilities employees use, as well as assess the risk of work areas and designate a coordinator to oversee the plan.
That meant finding ways to maximize physical distancing among employees — staggering shifts, putting up Plexiglas dividers, separating work spaces to be 6 feet apart at counters, and increasing sanitation when possible.
But United Public Employees, the largest union representing county employees across roughly 50 facilities, has only received a copy of about a dozen site plans, Somera said. As of Thursday, the union had not seen protection plans for several facilities, including those under the probation and the child support services departments.
County spokeswoman Kim Nava said in an email that “all departments have submitted their return to work plans.” Somera said he’s not so sure.
“I believe they just don’t have them,” he said. Somera said the county confirmed that it would share all facility protection plans with the union weeks ago. “And now, crickets.”
Even after the pandemic emerged, hundreds of Sacramento County workers deemed “essential” have continued to go to crowded office buildings. That has been a point of contention among many employees, who argued their jobs could be done easily from home.
Efforts to increase teleworking options were hampered by shortages in equipment, such as laptops, and workers in several departments say basic sanitation items like disinfectant wipes were scarce.
Months later, some departments appear to still be in the process of implementing new safety measures.
For example, the installation of wall-mounted hand sanitizers and sneeze guards in several facilities is still “pending,” according to the worksite-specific plan obtained by The Sacramento Bee.
“They’re working in a call center sitting two, three feet apart, four in a cubicle. It’s a large cubicle, sure, but there are no partitions in between those desk,” Somera said.
In a June 3 email to her staff earlier this month, Department of Human Assistance Director Ann Edwards wrote that because the county order at the time didn’t require employees to wear masks, that “we will not be distributing our limited supply to the bureaus at this time.”
Those masks, she wrote, would only be distributed “on a priority basis” when the department reopened face-to-face interactions with customers.
That policy has since changed, however, with California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s new statewide order Thursday requiring Californians wear masks in public. Newsom said he decided to issue the guidance after “seeing too many people with faces uncovered — putting at risk the real progress we have made in fighting the disease.”
The county will now be providing masks to all workers who request them, according to Nava, adding “we have enough” to supply them.
The end of paid administrative leave comes as Sacramento County has seen a notable rise in lab-positive cases of COVID-19 in the last three weeks.
Contact tracers who have investigated the increase report many of the cases have apparently stemmed from more family members gathering in homes. Sacramento County public health officer Dr. Olivia Kasirye told The Bee last week the recent reopenings of restaurants, stores, barbers and hair salons may have convinced people that the virus risk has gone away.
“You have people together for an extended period of time” not observing 6-foot social distancing, and often not wearing face coverings,” she previously told The Bee.
The county reported 93 new infections Saturday, its highest increase in lab-confirmed cases and nearly double the previous daily record from April. As of Sunday, the virus has infected more than 2,000 county residents and killed 67 people.
This story has been updated to reflect that the Department of Personnel Services oversees the return-to-work plans.
This story was originally published June 21, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
CORRECTION: This story has been updated to correct that the Department of Personnel Services oversees the return-to-work plans.