Here is the letter of concern they wrote to Madison and Dane County Public Health Director Janel Heinrich.
20 August 2020
Director Janel Heinrich
Public Health Madison Dane County
210 Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd, Rm 507
Madison, WI 53703
Via email to JHeinrich@publichealthmdc.com
Re: Maximizing Remote Work and Protecting Dane County Job Center Workers
Dear Director Heinrich:
Thank you for your recent report to the Dane County Board regarding COVID-19 and your department’s work to mitigate the spread of this dangerous virus. We write to follow up on questions and concerns regarding the re-opening of the Dane County Job Center and its implications for Dane County workers and their families.
It is our understanding that since the Job
Center opened on June 15, DCDHS has been requiring 20 economic support specialist (ESS) workers to be physically present at the Job Center to perform their work. The employee group reports that this is more staff than is needed to respond to the needs of walk-in Job Center users due to the accessibility of benefits applications and processing through electronic means. There are workers who have high-risk family members in their households who are not accommodated under FMLA and ADA policies who are being required to physically report to the Job Center. This, obviously, puts Dane County workers and their families at serious risk of infection and its potentially tragic consequences. In addition, due to limited staff resources to process requests for employee accommodations and leave, ESS workers are being asked to come to the Job Center to work while they are waiting for a response to their request. Furthermore, the employee group reports that Spanish bilingual staff are being scheduled at a higher rate than other staff which poses serious equity concerns.
As you know, PHMDC Emergency Order 8 (which went into effect about one month after the Job Center reopened) at paragraph 4(f) requires, “to the greatest extent possible”, that businesses facilitate “remote work and other measures that limit the number of individuals present at an office, facility, or store” and “[o]ffer online or virtual services, including for, meeting with clients, providing counsel, or other professional services. ii. Hold meetings and collaborate online or by phone. iii. Alternate work teams or stagger shifts.” Emergency Order #8 was a necessary intervention and recent numbers demonstrate that it is working.
For the first three months of the pandemic when the Job Center was closed, all ESS workers were exclusively performing their call center work remotely. Consistent with the emergency order, reducing the number of ESS workers required to be on-site and working with employee group volunteers to address the need for on-site staffing, as suggested by the employee group, appear to be sensible strategies to minimize risk to our employees and their families.
We are requesting that your department meet with DCDHS Administration and the employee group representatives to ensure that Dane County is facilitating remote work to the greatest extent possible for our Job Center workers, minimizing risk to workers and their families, and staffing the Job Center in an equitable way. We have deep appreciation for our ESS and Job Center staff as they work to connect Dane County residents with critical public benefits supporting basic needs like food, health care, and housing during this pandemic. It is critical that Dane County lead by example in ensuring safe work environments by maximizing remote work and adhering to public health guidelines.
Thank you for your diligent efforts during this difficult time. We look forward to your prompt response.
Sincerely,
Sup. Heidi M. Wegleitner, D2
Sup. Richard Kilmer, D4
Sup. Elena Haasl, D5
Sup. Yogesh Chawla, D6
Sup. Michele Ritt, D18
Sup. Michele Doolan, D28
Sup. Patrick Miles, D34
Sup. Kate McGinnity, D37
Cc: DDCHS Dir. Shawn Tesssman
County Executive Joe Parisi
Dane County Board
