New London city workers argue for more COVID data

But officials say request violates confidentiality

New London — The city’s Public Works Department has mostly recovered from an early January outbreak of COVID-19 cases, but the head of the local union argues not enough is being done to inform, and therefore protect, city employees.

The union has filed a complaint with the state and is calling for release of information about the city’s contact tracing policy along with a list of employees from the Solid Waste Division of the Public Works Department who have tested positive for COVID-19 and their close contacts — information the city argues is protected by confidentiality laws.

Council 4 of the American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees said it filed an unfair labor practice complaint this week with the Labor Department’s state Board of Labor Relations on behalf of AFSCME Local 1378, which represents employees in Public Works and City Hall.

City officials, who said they had not seen a copy of the complaint as of Wednesday, denied the allegation that it is withholding information. New London Chief Administrative Officer Steven Fields said the union already has been informed about the city’s contact tracing policy, which is carried out by Ledge Light Health District and follows policies and procedures established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The health district conducts contact tracing in cooperation with the state Department of Public Health and municipalities, schools and other partners. New London Personnel Administrator Tina Collins said she is notified of positive cases and close contacts and she works closely with Ledge Light to complete contact tracing to limit the spread within the city’s workforce.

The information on specific individuals who have tested positive is privileged and exempt from disclosure, Fields said. “The Union was specifically informed of these facts and circumstances but apparently wants the City to ignore those privacy concerns,” he said.

In the complaint, the union said the city violated rights of union members by refusing to provide the information it formally requested on Jan. 13, Local 1378 President David Kotecki said.

“The spread of COVID-19 within the New London Public Works Department demands immediate action and better communication to protect city employees and the public,” he said.

Kotecki said he knows of at least 11 employees who have tested positive for COVID-19 or been in contact with a positive case in recent weeks.

“Withholding the information we requested about contract tracing puts us all at risk of contracting and spreading the coronavirus,” he said in a statement. “COVID-19 cases are surging, and our members are a long way from getting vaccinated. I wish we didn’t have to file a (Municipal Prohibited Practice complaint) but city officials need to be cooperative, and work with us to make sure everyone is safe. Instead, they are being reckless.”

The Solid Waste Division of the city’s Public Works Department was hard hit earlier this month, when six of its employees tested positive for COVID-19. Public Works Director Brian Sear said that as of Wednesday, just one employee remained out due to COVID-19 and the department is closer to being fully operational.

There were a total of four city employees out because of COVID-19 on Thursday and all are slated to return next week, Collins said. There were 11 people out just two weeks ago.

Kotecki argues that people who work in the division have gotten little information about who has tested positive, who they may have been in contact with and therefore who might be in danger of infection. He also argues that in his opinion the transfer station should have been closed down to protect the public.

He said he also knows of people who have tested positive who have never been contacted.

“We’re concerned about our employees and their families and the public,” Kotecki said. “How do we know that the city is following protocol?”

Fields said the heads of various city departments meet daily to discuss and coordinate response to COVID-19 exposures that may have occurred within the last 24 hours. To ensure that no personnel are specifically identified, coordination with Ledge Light Health District is handled by the personnel department.

“The city and Ledge Light move aggressively to immediately limit the spread within the city’s workforce,” Fields said. “Protecting the health and safety of City employees and their families has been the Administration’s primary focus throughout the pandemic, and the allegations made by the union have no basis in fact or law.”

“The city’s handling of this matter is far from reckless, and such an allegation is rather insulting,” Fields said.

Stephen Mansfield, director of health for Ledge Light, said when the health district investigates outbreaks or clusters in municipalities, schools or any other workplace setting, it works closely with the administration of those entities, since they have the contact lists and local knowledge that makes the process more timely and efficient.

Contact tracers would not reveal a positive case to someone’s employer unless there is a public health need to do so, such as when an infected individual refuses to isolate. Employees, Mansfield said, should report their test results to their supervisor so it can be quickly determined who is a close contact and who should be quarantined.

Mary Day, a public health nurse who works on contact tracing with the health district, said everyone who tests positive for COVID-19 should expect a call from a contact tracer, either from the local or state health department.

The contact tracer will ask questions to determine the contagious period and isolation window of the positive case, and ask for contact information of close contacts. Contact tracers also will reach out to those close contacts. The identity of the positive case remains confidential.

The process is designed to slow the spread of the virus by informing people who had contact with an infected person of their exposure, advising them to quarantine and get tested. The state’s contact tracing program is run by the state Department of Public Health through a statewide software system known as ContaCT.

Contact tracing can be limited by individuals’ cooperation and memory.

Sometimes, Day said, the person who tested positive simply won’t reveal close contacts and there is nothing the health district can do other than explain the risks to the community.

Since COVID-19 has a twoto 14-day incubation period, people might not realize that a close contact who recently tested negative is not out of the woods until the end of the incubation period.

As to why someone would not be called, Day said there have been some cases that have fallen through the cracks for a variety of reasons, but generally someone should expect a call within 24 hours.

Ledge Light also encourages municipalities to keep names of individuals private. The employer should not be providing information on who has tested positive without the permission of the infected individual, Mansfield said. The co-workers don’t need to know who tested positive, only that they’ve been exposed so that they can quarantine and get tested, he said.