Pa. adjusts work schedule for state government employees to address coronavirus concerns, amid other changes

Coronavirus outbreak prompts changes to Pa. state government workers' schedule

Unions representing state government employees in Pennsylvania have negotiated or are working on negotiating a change that will allow employees in certain agencies to work two days on followed by two days off to provide for more social distancing in tight work quarters.

Some employees who work in state government offices will begin working a staggered schedule on a temporary basis to allow employees to put more distance between themselves in tight work quarters as part of the response to the coronavirus outbreak.

Employees in the larger county assistance offices that handle and process applications for benefits from a variety of human service programs will soon begin working two days on followed by two days off, according to the agreement the Service Employees International Union Local 668 negotiated with Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration on Sunday.

Steve Catanese, SEIU 668′s president, said this new scheduling arrangement in those offices didn’t take effect on Monday because details are still being worked out but will soon. He said employees would still be paid on the days they are scheduled to be off while agency officials look for an alternate location for them to work or figure out a way for them to work remotely.

A similar scheduling arrangement is being worked on between the Wolf Administration and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 13 to help employees represented by that union also get on a staggered schedule, said that union’s executive director David FIllman.

This is one of host of the changes that state government has made as it navigates through unprecedented operational challenges.

Wolf instituted a hiring freeze last Thursday and has ordered discretionary spending to halt. Other agencies are make accommodations for employees to work remotely or are making changes to ensure they meet social distancing requirements.

Along with the scheduling changes that will affects thousands, if not tens of thousands, of state employees, officials from the state governments’ largest labor unions said they are pressing to ensure that deep cleaning of offices is occurring that complies with the Centers for Disease Control guidelines.

“There are so many places that aren’t operating within CDC guidelines. It’s hard to fathom,” Catanese said. “These workers are all meant to be staying out to save the public but we’re worried there’s not enough being done to save them.”

Workers in county assistance offices confirmed that to be the case. Among those who reached out to PennLive, they said there was either no hand sanitizer in their office or a little bottle of it in an office of more than 50 employees. They said there was no gloves to handle the mail. And workers were sitting in cubicles one to three feet apart.

Fillman said he has heard from direct care employees who work in corrections facilities that say they lack any personal protection equipment. PennDOT employees are out on the road working in close proximity to one another with no facilities to wash their hands or hand sanitizer nearby.

On top of that, he said state employees hear of the bonuses or raises given to people who work in grocery stores and pharmacies and wonder where is their hazard pay?

“It’s been a very, very trying week as far as those kind of issues,” Fillman said. “They say we are exposed to conditions worse than those folks. It’s a crazy time."

Several workers also complained to PennLive about the lack of deep cleaning in their offices. They said they are barred from bringing cleaning products from home because some of those substances may be harmful to some of their co-workers’ health.

An employee in a Philadelphia office, who asked not to be identified out of job security concerns, said, “It’s really scary. We were in there last week and everybody was sitting on top of each other. There was no cleaning. No disinfecting. Nothing there to clean and we just had to hope for the best. You can’t treat your employees like that.”

Catanese said while the state Department of General Services is working to make sure the state-owned workplaces are properly cleaned, it’s the spaces that the state leases to house county assistance offices where problems lie. In those locations, the Department of Human Services has to look to general services to address the situation since general services is the one who holds the lease.

“Cooperation from the landlords has been spotty at best. Most of these landlords aren’t living up to their end of the bargain,” he said.

Both union officials said the administration has not raised the issue of employee furloughs to date but admit they could see the potential for that as state revenues fall off and businesses close.

“It’s going to hit everybody all over the place,” Fillman said. "Hopefully this quarantine thing is going to work out and we can calm this thing down."

For now, Catanese said, “Our goal is to help make sure Pennsylvania is safe but we just want to make sure the workers are safe while we’re doing that.”

Meanwhile, here is a recap of other news related to the response to COVID-19 affecting state government and its employees.

About the state government’s hiring freeze

During Monday’s update on the coronavirus outbreak, Wolf explained why his administration has ordered a hiring freeze and asked state agencies to limit their spending to only essential purchases of goods and services.

“We’re like any other business. The revenues have softened pretty dramatically,” the governor said. “I track that every day. I know what’s coming in each day by category. The tanking of the economy is affecting the state just like it’s affected anybody else who depends on a revenue source so we have to be careful.”

He expressed hope that the federal government takes actions that will help Pennsylvania with its financial challenges. “In the meantime, we’re doing the best we can to live within our means,” he said.

Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board

Wolf ordered the state wine and spirit shops to close on March 17, causing many Pennsylvanians to make a mad dash to their closest store to buy their favorite alcoholic beverage to get them through these difficult times. As of Monday, there was no indication that order is on the verge of being reversed.

PLCB spokeswoman Elizabeth Brassell said there is nothing new to report as to when those stores might re-open.

She said most of the agency’s employees are working from home and the fewer than a dozen that are still reporting to work practice social distancing.

Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency

The state’s student financial aid agency are calling employees who were off last week back to work on Tuesday. According to a message sent out to employees, those who are able to work remotely should continue to do so.

Employees who were brought back last week to perform essential duties under socially separated and sanitized conditions in the agency’s Harrisburg headquarters should continue to report to work, the message stated.

“If you desire to work from home and your job allows it, you will be provided equipment to work from home,” the memo said. “Remaining employees currently not working will have the option to work remotely or on-site in socially separated workspaces beginning Tuesday.”

* This post was updated to correct the spelling of Steve Catanese’s name.

Jan Murphy may be reached at jmurphy@pennlive.com. Follow her on Twitter at @JanMurphy.

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