CALIFORNIA TEAMSTERS LocAL 911 Pusu, PROFESIONAL & MEDICAL EMPLOYEES UNION, THE COUNTIES OF LoS ANGALES, (Orance, Riverine, San Dicco IMPERIAL, SAN Lus Otro, San BERWARDIND, SANTA BARBARA AND VENTURA 9900 FLOWER STREET © BELLFLOWER © CALIFORNIA © 90706 (562) 595-4518 * Fax (562) 427-7298 * teamsters911.com ‘An Affilate ofthe International Brotherhood of Teamsters August 10, 2021 Barbara Ferrer, Ph.D., M.P.H., M.Ed. County of Los Angeles Department of Public Health Environmental Health 313 North Figueroa Street, Suite 806 Los Angeles, CA 90012 Re: Cease and Desist to DPH-EH Management Dear Dr. Ferrer: On behalf of the Los Angeles County Association of Environmental Health Specialists — Teamsters Local 911, | demand that L.A. County Department of Public Health Environmental Health Management cease and desist the implementation of unsafe work policies and practices. Over the past year, DPH-EH management has consistently failed to protect the welfare and safety of its employees. The Health Officer Order first required private businesses to conduct symptom checks of their employees on April 10, 2020. EH Management failed to implement symptom checks for their employees until October 16, 2020, over six months later. The HOO required that all desks or workstations be separated by at least six feet as early as April 10, 2020. In most of our offices, the workstations are not at least six feet apart, and higher barriers (which are still less than six feet high) were not installed on cubicles until late November to early December 2020, almost eight months later. EH staff were forced to conduct workplace COVID-19 outbreak investigations during the winter surge without N95 respirators alongside colleagues from ACDC, OMB, PHI, and other DPH departments who were properly equipped with N9S's for which they were fit-tested; at least one of our members contracted COVID-19 during those outbreak investigations. EH Management has routinely denied telework requests without explanation, precluding social distancing in our offices, which include the aisle that only ‘one employee can access ata time. The unsafe conditions and policy changes within EH are still ongoing Since the June 15, 2021 reopening, EH Management has acted as if the pandemic is over when it is clearly not. Our existing telework agreements were terminated at the end of June 2021, and all employees are nowPage two Barbara Ferrer August 10, 2021 required to report to their office at least 2 days per week, risking the spread of COVID-19 among the EH workforce, while Management is aware that a large percentage of the Specialty Staff work product is composed of highly technical case reviews, research and report writing which can be done on a telework schedule. Throughout the entire pandemic, EHSs were instructed to conduct their inspection, then leave the facility to write their report in a safe location in an effort to limit exposure time in any given food facility or business. On June 15, 2021, when the 7-day average in the County was 172 new cases per day, that directive was rescinded and EHSs were told that they must remain in the restaurant to type their report and review it with the operator. A month and a half later, when the 7-day average is now over 3,000 new cases per day, EHSs are still required to remain in restaurants filled with unmasked customers of unknown vaccination status for longer than necessary, increasing the risk of contracting COVID-19. We realize that the COVID-19 vaccines are extremely effective against hospitalization and death, but the Delta variant has shown to be able to infect even those who have been vaccinated. The risk that seems to be overlooked by EH Management is the very real possibility of an employee contracting COVID-19 while on the job, then bringing it home to an unvaccinated immunocompromised family member, or a family member under the age of 12, or a family member who made the “personal choice,” or have underlining conditions, such as cancer and/or certain allergies that preclude them, as you have said, to not get vaccinated. EH Management's lack of concern for their employee’s health is not limited to their physical wellbeing. Over the past year and a half, EH Management has implemented policies that have caused undue stress and harmed employee’s mental health. EH Management requires that all employees take their 30-minute COVID Wellness Break in the office prior to leaving for the field. EHSs do not need a mental health break in the office. They need a break when they are in the field dealing with hostile operators who resent the heavy-handed enforcement policies of this department, policies which focus on punishing rather than educating business owners who are already suffering economically. EHSs are currently tasked with more office work than before the pandemic, while at the same time EH Management is permitting less office time than was the standard prior to the pandemic. EHSs who do not leave for the field withinPage three Barbara Ferrer August 10, 2021 the allotted time frame are subject to harassment, bullying, and discipline from their supervisors. EHSs who speak up about safety concerns are subject to retaliation from EH Management. When a week into the pandemic, some EHSs refused to go into the field without proper PPE, the District Surveillance and Enforcement Branch Director's response to the chiefs was not “what are the staff's concerns and how can we address them?” but rather “I want their names.” When one EHS inquired to HR about why EH Field Staff had not been notified that they were eligible for the vaccine when the County’s website said that they were in fact eligible, the EH Director instructed that inspector's chief to threaten them with discipline for speaking up. Management dismisses our concerns without consideration and will hat listen to reasonable requests. These policies enacted by EH Management may seem to be in the interest of productivity, but all they have accomplished is to erode employee morale and mental health, which any management expert, or any logical human being, knows results in decreased productivity. Not only are these policies bad for employees, the end result is that they are bad for the Department and even worse for the citizens of Los Angeles County. Our members are unable to excel at serving the public because EH Management has created a workplace where they have to worry more about looking good on paper than doing their actual jobs. As such, we demand the following: e Any member of LACoAEHS who wishes to telework every day of the week rather than reporting to the office should be permitted to do so immediately. Reinstate the option for a modified work schedule, including a 9/80, 4/40 work week without restrictions; workdays of 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.; 7:30 a.m. — 4:30 p.m., and 7:00 a.m. — 4:00 p.m. e Recognize and provide a 4/40 Telework Schedule for employees with underlying health conditions, including those over the age of 65. e Maintain our buildings closed to the public and/or minimize staff exposure as other departments within the purview of the County CEO, such as the Office of the District Attorney, Registrar Recorder Office, and Child Support Services that operate with a crew to ensure telephone coverage. In addition, we would like to institute a program similar to Regional Planning, who is operating their officesPage four Barbara Ferrer August 10, 2021 at 30%. They go into the office once per week in a staggered manner and ordered to telework until further notice. On a daily basis, staff is required to use an app called Blustone, which is managed by UCLA, in which they complete an electronic form specifying if they have any symptoms and/or if they have come in contact with any member of the public that may be infected with COVID-19. If they answer yes to any of the questions, they are mandated to stay home and telework until symptoms are gone. e EHSs shall immediately be instructed to leave food facilities and other businesses to write their reports. e All EHSs, regardless of vaccination status, shall be offered at no cost N95 respirators and, if they choose to accept the N95s, shall be properly fit-tested. e All EH staff shall be permitted to take their COVID Weliness break as they see fit, whether that be in the field or in the office. e Management shall discontinue enforcing their “90-minutes of office time’ rule until a study has been conducted to determine what amount of office time is needed for EHSs to complete their daily office tasks. We are demanding the aforementioned description of hostility that has been cultivated over the past 16 months end immediately. Moreover, we demand that EH Management be held accountable for their actions and cease and desist from any further harmful and demoralizing actions ~ against their employees. Should you have any questions, please telephone me at your earliest convenience at (562) 595-4518 extension 112. Sincerely, Gregorio Daniel Senior Business Representative c: Muntu Davis, M.D., M.P.H. County Health Officer Megan Mcclaire, M.S.P.H. Chief Deputy Director Liza Frias, Rehs Director of Environmental Health