NY City
Board Of Ed Fails To Protect Workers From Hepatitis
Monday, November 21, 2005
http://spewingforth.blogspot.com/2005/11/ny-city-board-of-ed-fails-to-protect.html
More than fifteen years after OSHA's bloodborne pathogens
standard was issued to protect workers against contracting
bloodborne diseases like AIDS and hepatitis B and C, some
employers
still haven't gotten the idea.
United Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten accused
the [New York City] Department of Education on Nov. 15 of
ignoring federal law requiring it to protect educators at risk
of exposure to life-threatening pathogens in blood or bodily
fluid.
Weingarten introduced Queens paraprofessional Lori Baron who
contracted the potentially deadly Hepatitis C virus while
working with special education children.
“Lori is sick because of the neglect and indifference of the
Department of Education,” Weingarten told reporters at a crowded
news conference outside the Tweed Courthouse. “Educators are
not being adequately trained. They are not being routinely
offered the Hepatitis B vaccine.”
Weingarten contended that the Department of Education is
flouting the federal Occupational Safety and Health Act and New
York State guidelines that require employers, like hospitals and
schools, to provide training and protective clothing, such as
latex gloves, to workers at risk of being exposed to blood in
the course of their duties. These workers are also supposed to
get a vaccination for Hepatitis B, she said.
“The Board of Education routinely ignores these standards,”
Weingarten said. “As a result, both staff, and in some instances
children, have gotten sick.”
As many as 128 UFT members in schools have been exposed to
blood-borne pathogens through scratches or bites, Weingarten
said.
The union filed its first major complaint 10 years ago with the
state Labor Department about the DOE’s lack of compliance with
federal standards. After conducting investigations at several
special education sites, the state has issued 13 citations
against the DOE and levied fines totaling more than $50,000. The
DOE is currently being fined $1,280 a week for failing to
improve conditions at Beach Channel HS, where Baron works.
Hepatitis C is a particularly virulent, often fatal, type of
hepatitis that can often lead to the need for a liver
transplant.
As usual, the employer says it is doing all it can, but the
workers and the state don't agree say that
all is not what it seems. The Department of Education won't
even give Baron workers comp:
After Barron’s diagnosis, the Public Employee Safety and Health
Bureau conducted an investigation and found her school guilty of
14 violations, for which the Board of Education was fined tens
of thousands of dollars.
The board asserts that it has practices in place, such as the
use of gloves that should protect employees, but Baron
claimed, “We were told directly that there were not enough
gloves, so please use them sparingly. Or, we were told not to
use them at all, because they make the children feel bad.”
Lou Heller, the chief attorney representing Baron’s case, said
that his client is simply demanding that the Board of Education
admit its negligence and take the necessary steps to right the
situation.
“Correct the problem. Workers’ compensation doesn’t cure
Hepatitis C,” said Heller.
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