PRESS RELEASE

SEIU California

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 17, 2020

Contact: Mike Roth, 916.813.1554 Maria Elena Jauregui, 818.355.5291 (Spanish-language)

MANDATORY COVID REPORTING BILL HELPS KEEP WORKERS SAFE FROM WORKPLACE COVID-19 EXPOSURE

Sacramento, CA—Today, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) California applauded Governor Gavin Newsom for signing AB 685 by Assemblymember Eloise Gomez Reyes (D-San Bernardino) into law. Passing AB 685 was a high priority for SEIU CA this year because requiring employers to report COVID-19 infections in workplaces helps essential workers stay healthy.

“Since the pandemic began, too many of California’s essential workers have been put in an impossible situation: caught between paying their bills or risking COVID-19 infection by reporting to work,” said Bob Schoonover, President of SEIU California and SEIU Local 721. “Timely, accurate information about workplace infections is vital so workers can take action to protect themselves, their families and their communities, and Governor Newsom’s signature on this essential legislation is an important step forward in protecting workers, their families, and their communities.”

Under AB 685 (Reyes), employers will be required to provide notice to all employees at a worksite should any worker be exposed to COVID-19; they will also be required to report a workplace COVID-19 positive test, diagnosis, order to quarantine or isolate, or death that could be COVID-19 related to the California Department of Public Health.

“We are working in COVID-19 hotspots that lack PPE, sanitizer and proper safety measures. Even though fast-food workers have been classified as essential, the companies we work for have treated us as expendable. Fast-food giants like Jack-in-the-Box, KFC and Taco Bell have actively hidden cases and some have even threatened workers to keep them from reporting infections. I tested positive for COVID-19, and suffered a subsequent stroke, after seven workers in my Taco Bell/KFC store tested positive and were told not to share their diagnosis. My situation and the situations of so many other workers who have gotten sick could have been prevented.  That's why this law is desperately needed. Latino, Black and API low-wage workers are bearing the brunt of the virus in frontline work and worry about bringing it home to our families and communities, and that needs to change,” said Paz Aguilar, a leader in the Fight for $15 and a Union who works at three fast-food stores.

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