Departments told to be less specific about COVID case numbers among state workers

Gov. Gavin Newsom directed California state departments to provide less specific information to state workers about COVID-19 outbreaks in their workplaces on Friday, citing confidentiality concerns.

State employees have been receiving regular emails telling them about new COVID-19 infections among their coworkers, including details on when infected employees tested positive and when they last appeared at the workplace. The notices don’t identify employees.

Newsom’s new directive says departments shouldn’t share specific numbers unless more than 11 employees have tested positive. The notices should instead say “there are fewer than 11 cases,” according to the directive. The directive suggests less-specific notifications will help ensure confidentiality.

The directive was sent from the Office of the Director of the state’s Human Resources Department, Eraina Ortega, on Friday. The directive’s letterhead lists Newsom and Government Operations Agency Secretary Yolanda Richardson along with Ortega.

“The new policy is aimed at striking the right balance between informing employees about an exposure and protecting the private health information of employees who are ill or exposed, consistent with state privacy laws,” Government Operations Agency spokeswoman Amy Palmer said in an email. “Using this guidance, state employers will still notify employees of a potential exposure in their workplace, but they will not specify the number of cases if it is fewer than 11.”

Neither the Human Resources Department nor the Governor’s Office immediately responded to questions about how the number 11 was chosen.

Many state workers have been receiving notifications of new infections on a near-daily basis amid a statewide infection surge over the last few weeks.

The California Highway Patrol and the Department of Motor Vehicles are among the state offices where positive test notices have surged, prompting employees to share safety concerns with The Sacramento Bee.

The change to employee notifications was included in broader guidance on how state departments should implement emergency workplace regulations Cal-OSHA instituted for employers on Nov. 30.

Cal-OSHA’s regulations say employers must test all employees following a COVID-19 outbreak, defined as three or more positive tests in a 14-day span. The regulations require testing for all employees in an exposed workplace at least twice, and more as needed until the workplace goes two weeks without three positive tests.

The guidance doesn’t address how departments will communicate with employees about outbreaks involving between three and 11 people, given the new restriction on providing infection numbers when there are fewer than 11 of them. Neither the Human Resources Department nor the Governor’s Office responded to a question about that.

An exposed workplace, as defined in the regulations, is “not the entire building or department, but the area of the building where the COVID-19 cases were present,” according to the guidance.

Employees in an exposed workplace must be tested during work time and at no cost to them, according to the guidance. Tests are already free for people who are symptomatic and those with known or suspected exposure to the virus. The guidance provides more details for asymptomatic employees.

The Cal-OSHA regulations require employers to exclude from work employees who have been exposed to the virus. Exposure generally means being within six feet of someone who is infected for a total of 15 minutes or more in any 24-hour period, according to the guidance.

Exposed employees, including those who are asymptomatic, should quarantine according to Department of Public Health guidelines, according to the guidance.

The CDPH generally recommends 14-day quarantines, but allows 10-day quarantines for people who are asymptomatic and even shorter quarantines for asymptomatic people who work in health care or other critical professions and have tested negative.

Quarantined state workers should telework if possible or be given administrative time off (paid leave), according to the guidance.

The guidance also says employees should wear masks in cubicles, undergo symptom screening at workplaces (self-evaluation qualifies) and take web-based training on COVID-19 prevention.

This story was originally published December 21, 2020 at 2:52 PM.