89 get layoff notices as Placer County plans shift to new health provider at jails
Placer County plans to end its contract with a major for-profit company for medical services at its jails.
Nashville, Tennessee-based Wellpath plans to lay off 89 employees across three jail locations, according to a letter the company sent to the state’s Employment Development Department last week. The letter is required under the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act.
The county is negotiating with another vendor to take over the medical and mental health care of inmates, said Wendy Williams, a county spokesperson. The Board of Supervisors is expected to vote on that contract once a tentative deal is reached.
“While the current vendor, Wellpath, will be issuing layoff notices, we do not anticipate any disruption in services or staffing levels within our jails,” Williams said in an email. “Based on the information we have, any incoming contractor would likely want to hire the affected medical staff in order to transition services successfully.”
She declined to discuss costs as negotiations are ongoing, but said details will be shared when the proposal goes before the board.
“The decision to seek new contract proposals was made in late 2025 with the goal of maintaining a competitive agreement, as recommended under the county’s procurement policy,” Williams said.
Williams declined to say whether the switch was influenced by lawsuits Wellpath, which emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy in May 2025, has faced in the capital region.
In November a woman filed a civil lawsuit in Sacramento Superior Court against Wellpath alleging she was sexually assaulted by a male Wellpath nurse. In July, the family of Jonathan Kukar-Tekano, 38, who died by suicide at an El Dorado County jail, filed a federal lawsuit alleging Wellpath staff could have done more to prevent his death. Both suits remain active.
A spokesperson for Wellpath did not respond to a request for comment about those suits as well as the layoffs.
Placer County has contracted with Wellpath — through subsidiary California Forensic Medical Group — since 1989 to provide medical care at the jails, according to previous Bee reporting. Wellpath and Salinas-based CFMG merged in 2018.
Sacramento County has also faced issues with jail contractors. In 2023, an on-call nurse for Sacramento-based Avid Healthcare was charged with allegedly smuggling in drugs to give to inmates. The county no longer contracts with Avid, said Kim Nava, a county spokesperson. County staff now handle medical care, while UC Davis provides behavioral health services, and Turning Point Community Programs provides mental health services.
The majority of the positions being laid off in Placer County are nursing roles, according to the letter provided by Wellpath to state unemployment officials.
At the main jail in north Auburn, the layoffs include 19 registered nurses, 16 licensed vocational nurses, three mental health professionals, three medical assistants, one dentist and several other positions. At the next-door Juvenile Detention Facility, the layoffs include two registered nurses, one licensed nurse and one mental health professional.
At the South Placer Jail in Roseville, the layoffs include 14 registered nurses, 13 licensed vocational nurses, two medical assistants, one mental health professional, one dentist and several other positions, the letter said.
Some of the employees are members of the union AFSCME Local 2620, which the company notified, the letter stated. The layoffs are effective June 30.
