A Los Angeles County-owned hotel used to quarantine people with COVID-19 failed to follow pandemic safety protocols and properly train housekeepers to protect themselves against the coronavirus, according to a complaint filed with the state.
A 71-year-old housekeeper working at the facility tested positive for the virus and died in January while the building — a former Holiday Inn in Long Beach — was being used as a quarantine site, according to the complaint by Unite Here Local 11, the union that represents Southern California hotel workers. The union filed the complaint Thursday with the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health, known as Cal/OSHA.
“I didn’t feel safe,” said Maria Borja, who has worked as a housekeeper at the hotel for four years. “You don’t know if the virus is flying around there.”
She said the trash and linens from the rooms of the quarantined guests were supposed to be handled separately from other trash and linens. But she said supervisors often told housekeepers to ignore the rules to save time and money.
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