In shift, some California state departments keep employees in offices during COVID-19 outbreaks

Several California state departments have been insisting for months that employees come to the office at least once a week, aiming to wind down full-time telework and establish permanent hybrid models even as COVID-19 variants circulate.

Among the departments requiring in-person work, a new point of friction has emerged between managers and employees: what to do when there’s an outbreak in the office.

The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health, often called Cal/OSHA, defines an outbreak generally as three infections in 14 days at a worksite. In state office settings, worksites are typically divisions of departments or other shared spaces within four walls.

With the BA.4 and BA.5 variants spreading in California, the state’s reported infection rate recently surpassed last summer’s peak. Some of the infections are triggering outbreak designations in state offices.

In a shift, some departments that used to send employees home to telework during outbreaks are requiring them to keep coming into the office with masks on.

Cal/OSHA has never directed employers to bar workers during outbreaks, directing them instead to require masks and to consider additional measures.

The Department of Public Health has periodically updated its guidelines on isolation and quarantine for people who have been exposed and who have tested positive. Its most recent update, issued June 8, relaxed directives for asymptomatic people who have been exposed to the virus while retaining stricter standards for the vulnerable, such as the elderly and sick.

State departments have generally followed those directives. But some state employees want to see their employers do more than the minimum as reported infections tick upward.

“The minimum legal requirements aren’t successfully keeping us out of harm’s way,” said Hoang-Van Nguyen, an SEIU Local 1000 representative who works at the California Public Employees’ Retirement System.

Franchise Tax Board

The Franchise Tax Board, one of the state’s largest agencies with more than 6,100 employees, has been requiring most employees to work from the office one day a week since May, with plans to add more days in September. Since June 1, 256 employees reported COVID-19 infections, spokeswoman Tami Grimes said in an email.

As of this week, 21 of 45 worksites were in outbreak status, Grimes said. One was recently in “major outbreak” status, with at least 20 infections in 30 days, according to an email to employees.

On July 20, the agency posted guidance on an internal website saying employees in outbreak areas needed to wear masks indoors.

On July 22, after a union representative raised health and safety concerns and The Sacramento Bee inquired, managers told employees in an email that the agency was making a temporary change to allow telework for three weeks in outbreak areas.

Michelle Haunold Lorenz, a Local 1000 job steward at the tax agency, said she suspects its old, poorly ventilated office buildings with low ceilings, located off of U.S. Highway 50 between Rosemont and Rancho Cordova, provide a welcoming environment for the virus.

She said the union is pressing for the department to allow employees as much telework as they want and their jobs can accommodate.

“My main ask is if employees were successfully doing their job teleworking, that they be allowed to telework as much as they need to telework to feel comfortable and safe doing their job,” Haunold Lorenz said. “Whether that’s 100 percent if that’s what the employee feels is best for them or one or two days in the office — allow the employee to choose.”

CalPERS

The California Public Employees’ Retirement System, with about 2,800 employees, has been requiring most workers to report to the office three days a week since March. Call center employees have not had to do so.

Since the start of June, 156 employees have reported COVID-19 infections, spokesman Brad Pacheco said in an email. The department has identified 98 transmissions at work, he said.

Just one division — the Retirement Services Division — is in outbreak status this week, he said. A floor in the department’s Investment Office recently exited outbreak status after 29 days, he said.

CalPERS used to authorize telework by default during outbreaks. The department switched course last month, but hasn’t adopted a formal new policy, he said.

“It’s still case by case,” Pacheco said. “But instead of the default being telework, we’ll ask people to come in in masks.”

Telework has been authorized for the one division currently in outbreak status, Pacheco said.

Nguyen, the SEIU Local 1000 representative at CalPERS, said the employees she represents want the department to authorize full-time emergency telework, or at least to reduce the number of days employees must spend in offices.

Nguyen said a universal mask requirement would also help.

“If it’s as infectious as it is now and everyone can get sick, we need to look at more universal policies,” she said.

Department of Tax and Fee Administration, State Controller’s Office

The Department of Tax and Fee Administration has been requiring most of its 4,000 employees to come to the office once a week, spokeswoman Tamma Adamek said in an email.

From June 1 to July 21, 411 employees had reported infections, Adamek said. But only 82 appeared in offices during infectious periods.

The department had no outbreaks as of last week, she said.

“When we have positive cases in the office during their infectious period or outbreaks, we post them on our internal website, and we tell team members not to come in if they don’t feel well, if they have family members who aren’t well, or if they have concerns,” she said in the email.

The State Controller’s Office has about 1,500 employees, and 175 have reported infections across four facilities since June 1, spokeswoman Jennifer Hanson said in an email.

“(The State Controller’s Office) will not require employees to come into an area that has been defined as an outbreak area,” Hanson said. “Should an outbreak be determined, the area will be scheduled for deep cleaning and closed for the established quarantine period.”

When there are outbreaks, employees may telework or work in a different area, she said.

A public relations employee at the Department of Developmental Services said in an unsigned email that the department doesn’t have a policy requiring employees to come into the office during outbreaks. The person did not respond to followup questions about the department’s outbreak protocols.

This story was originally published July 27, 2022 at 5:00 AM.