Thousands of complaints about COVID-19 violations, but still limited enforcement from state

The first employee infection at New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity happened in mid-July. A few days later, it was followed by a second.

Several Habitat employees who worked with the infected staff members wanted to take leave or work from home, fearing they might have been exposed to COVID-19. Allowing that would have been consistent with public health guidelines, as well as Habitat’s written COVID-19 policy, which had been distributed in the spring. But several employees told The Lens that managers there were sometimes hesitant to grant the requests.

“For us — we were like, I don’t understand why there’s such a strong demand for people to keep working, in particular when they don’t feel safe,” a former Habitat employee told The Lens last month.

One Habitat worker took a complaint to the Louisiana Department of Health, on July 21st. The department followed up by contacting the nonprofit group with guidance and recommendations for operating safely. But employees say little changed after that. Two more Habitat employees went on to test positive in the weeks following the complaint.

Read more: https://thelensnola.org/2020/09/25/thousands-of-complaints-about-covid-19-violations-but-still-limited-enforcement-from-state/