ON THE COVER
Jose Suarez, a strawberry farmworker, wears a medical face mask as he stands near rows of strawberry fields in Watsonville, California, on Wednesday, July 29, 2020.
‘Pretty Disappointing’
Photo by David Rodriguez, The Salinas Californian
California workplace safety agency’s response to COVID complaints: letters, not inspections By Jackie Botts/CalMatters newsroom@northcoastjournal.com
P
az Aguilar continued working seven days a week at two fast food restaurants and as a janitor, even as Oakland seemed to be grinding to a halt around her. Then in late June, her life did, too. By then two of her coworkers at a combo Taco Bell and Kentucky Fried Chicken joint stopped showing up to work — Aguilar said a manager told her they were on vacation — after one woman stayed home with a fever. Aguilar, 54, had spent hours rolling burritos within arm’s length of her. First Aguilar felt weak, dizzy and tired. Then, a severe cough and fever. A total of at least seven employees would fall ill with the virus, by her count. So would Aguilar’s sister-in-law. Three weeks into her illness, Aguilar had a stroke, which she attributes to the virus’ toll on her body. When she left the hospital a month later, one side of her body and face was paralyzed. She struggles to walk and talk. Her doctors say it may be a year before she fully recovers. On Sept. 4, Aguilar filed a com-
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plaint with Cal/OSHA, the California Occupational Safety and Health Agency and the Alameda County Public Health Department. She alleged that her managers had failed to enforce mask-wearing or social distancing, and had hidden COVID-19 diagnoses from her and others. Kentucky Fried Chicken and Taco Bell did not respond to requests for comment. Aguilar said she filed the complaint so her coworkers wouldn’t have to go through what she has. “El riesgo sigue todo el tiempo,” she said — the risk continues. Aguilar said the county health department never followed up. Cal/OSHA’s response: a letter asking that the manager explain how the issues had been fixed. “The Division has not determined whether the hazard(s), as alleged, exist(s) at your workplace and, at this time, the Division does not intend to conduct an inspection of your workplace,” the letter reads. Cal/OSHA has sent a version of this letter to employers accused of not keep-
NORTH COAST JOURNAL • Thursday, Oct. 15, 2020 • northcoastjournal.com
ing workers safe from COVID-19 more than 5,800 times since February.
annual inspection rate, which Cal/OSHA pegged at 25 percent over the past four years. For non-coronavirus complaints Letters instead of inspections filed during the pandemic, the rate is 12 During the pandemic, Cal/OSHA has percent, revealing how the agency has defaulted to responding to the vast specifically limited its enforcement of majority of worker complaints about workplace hazards related to the virus. coronavirus hazThe strategy follows a ards with letters March directive rather than on-site inspections, even as from Gov. Gavin workplace outbreaks Newsom to focus on compliance have fueled spread of the virus across assistance instead the state. of enforcement. It Of the 6,937 has characterized COVID-related the chronically understaffed agency’s complaints the answer to a deluge agency had received of COVID-related between Feb. 1 and - CAL/OSHA CHIEF DOUG PARKER complaints. Sept. 27, Cal/OSHA But the low inhas conducted on spection rate raises on-site inspection questions about how many COVID hazfor just 352 of them — or 5 percent, according to a CalMatters analysis of Cal/ ards the agency may have allowed to perOSHA data. sist, and how many negligent employers It’s a steep drop from the typical may have been given a free pass, despite
“We believe our approach is the right one and has made a significant impact.”
