‘More information’
Employees interviewed said they do not know which of their colleagues has COVID-19, but that some workers who had contact with the person are quarantining.
Unlike some other stores, such as ShopRite and Fresh Grocer, Whole Foods does not notify the public when an employee tests positive, or share when they last worked.
There are legal reasons to be discreet in naming individuals, which would violate the Americans with Disabilities Act.
“Employers should inform employees that possible exposure has occurred in the workplace without disclosing any identifying information about the individual who tested positive,” guidance posted by the Society for Human Resource Management.
Naming individuals is distinct from sharing general information about a possible exposure, however.
“The argument for letting people know as quickly as possible is because if they’re having to wait an extended period of time — before they know that they’ve been around someone who has tested positive — they actually could have been infectious during that time period themselves,” said Krys Johnson, assistant professor of instruction in the department of epidemiology and biostatistics at Temple University. That could put their friends and family members at risk, “especially considering there are so many asymptomatic cases.”
On the flip side, she points out that not even state governments agree on a best practice. Pennsylvania is more conservative in releasing any information about the whereabouts of people who tested positive to prevent them from being stigmatized, a policy Johnson said is “a holdover” from dealing with outbreaks of sexually transmitted diseases.
“Considering the highly contagious nature of this disease, it’s more important to err on the side of giving people more information to be more proactive about their health,” Johnson said.
In the words of another Whole Foods employee at the Fairmount store, not knowing was “not cool.”
“I wish that they would have sent out something sooner,” they said, “if the person’s symptoms were severe enough to have them do a deep clean of the store.”
Wonky scanners and other safety issues
As stores roll out new safety measures to try to protect staff and customers, some say efforts such as mandatory body temperature checks are flawed and may end up backfiring.
“The temperature guns don’t work,” said one Whole Foods employee at the Fairmount location, echoing workers at several stores.
“It’s completely unreliable,” said a veteran employee at the company’s Devon location who was scanned at 91 degrees Fahrenheit. “I pretty much have hypothermia at that point.” That Chester County store has had four confirmed cases of COVID-19, according to the employee.
The infrared temperature sensors have become widely adopted by governments and businesses attempting to limit the spread of the virus. But the devices have been criticized by medical officials as ineffective, especially when wielded by colleagues who may not take the measurements consistently or precisely.
Whole Foods employees describe inconsistent results and patchy use of the tools. There may not be anyone at the door to scan first thing in the morning.
“It just seems very poorly organized and orchestrated… I don’t feel valued, you know,” said the Devon location employee.
Sales at Whole Foods rose by 8% during the first quarter, which coincided with the beginning of the pandemic and parent company Amazon saw revenues jump 26%, according to a report from Vox. However, the grocer says much of those profits will disappear as they change workflows and invest in new safety equipment.
Keystone Crossroads is a statewide reporting collaborative of WITF, WPSU and WESA, led by WHYY. This story originally appeared at https://whyy.org/programs/keystone-crossroads.
"colleague" - Google News
May 06, 2020 at 02:05AM
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Their colleague got COVID-19. No one told them for days - witf.org
"colleague" - Google News
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