Does City of Fresno’s new COVID-19 policy on infected workers apply to county workers?
The Fresno City Council instituted a policy that all employers in the city must notify employees and customers if a worker tests positive for the coronavirus — and advocates say that includes employees of Fresno County.
The council adopted the new orders on Thursday with a 5-1 vote, and the emergency order went into effect immediately.
Councilmember Nelson Esparza, who sponsored the new language in the order, said employees across the city should be notified if they’re potentially exposed to COVID-19 no matter where they work.
“It’s intended to cover all employers across the city, all sectors, including government,” he said. “I don’t think the county is any exception.”
The Fresno County Hall of Records and other county offices, like the Registrar of Voters Office, are within city limits. The county employs more than 6,000 workers.
Esparza said he expects, if the city’s code enforcers receive complaints, that city employees would take actions to hold the county responsible.
City, county at odds
What that response looks like exactly is unclear, and that remains a question as the county has about 11 workplaces that have become concerns for the coronavirus, according to Fresno County Interim Health Officer Dr. Rais Vohra.
Vohra said the county is still figuring out exactly how the order may be enforced on county offices, so officials are trying to get clarification.
Vohra said, however, that the county does not have a blanket policy where it requires employers to announce an infection to everyone. Workers who report their illness to their employer are typically dealt with individually.
The city of Fresno has been more aggressive in managing the pandemic than county leaders. Fresno Mayor Lee Brand called for a shelter-in-place a day before Gov. Gavin Newsom made that call for the state, for example.
Fresno rolled out a plan for its federal relief spending related to the coronavirus weeks before the county presented a partial plan.
County workers call for action
County workers have begun calling their unions about how the notification policy applies at their workplace within the city limits, according to Dillon Savory, the executive director of the Fresno-Madera-Tulare-Kings California Labor Council.
Savory said county leaders are taking a slow, “laissez-faire” approach to protecting their workers.
“We look at the county government as the one agency in this area not taking any lead or initiative of protecting people’s lives,” he said Friday. “They should be out front on this.”
County officials are quick to point to the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, typically called HIPAA, as a reason officials cannot inform other employees in a workplace if one becomes sick.
The law protects the medical privacy of employees.
“They’re hiding behind something that’s not relevant here,” Savory said. “You don’t need to expose any worker by name to identify other workers who (should be informed).”
