1/ California and Oregon were lauded for their early response to the pandemic.

But eight months into the crisis, the neighboring states have made starkly different choices on tracking and reporting workplace outbreaks.

Story by @laurencedsault: https://bit.ly/35lyUMD 

2/ “It’s fundamental data that should be readily available.”

Oregon uses a centralized tracking system to report workplace outbreaks. California, on the other hand, doesn’t post workplace outbreaks — the state lets its 58 counties handle coronavirus data. https://bit.ly/35lyUMD 

3/ California has advised, but did not mandate, employers to notify workers of positive cases among employees. A joint investigation by @jackie_botts and @salnews’ @k_cimini revealed hundreds of unreported outbreaks among guest farmworkers this summer. https://bit.ly/3kS85Wb 

4/ “It’s scary. We just hear it from other people, we don’t hear it from our boss or supervisors."

How counties report workplace #COVID19 outbreaks varies widely across California because of the lack of a statewide mandate. https://bit.ly/3gGokCi 

5/ #AB685, a bill signed by Gov. @GavinNewsom, aims to give workers timely notice. But a key requirement to disclose worksite outbreaks to the public got stripped out of the final draft.

@reyes4assembly, the bill's author: “The opposition was very strong against the bill.”

6/ Cal/OSHA, the agency in charge of investigating COVID complaint cases, has defaulted to responding to complaints with letters instead of on-site inspections. Between Feb. 1 and Sept. 27, Cal/OSHA conducted on-site inspections for just 5% of complaints. https://bit.ly/30Q2HdY 

7/ In September, it took the @SantaRosaPolice two weeks before notifying Cal/OSHA that an employee had died after contracting #COVID19 at work.

@DaveCortese: "It shows somewhere along the line Oregon made a commitment to transparency. So shame on us." https://bit.ly/35lyUMD