Transcripts For SFGTV BOS Government Audits And Oversight Co

Transcripts For SFGTV BOS Government Audits And Oversight Committee 20240712

In order to protect city employees, the board, and the public during the covid19 emergency, city hall and the board room is closed. Committee members will participate remotely in the conference to the extent as if they were physically present. Sfgov is streaming the public calling number at this time across the screen. Your opportunity to provide Public Comment is available by call 4156550001. Once prompted, enter the meeting i. D. For todays meeting, 1461470836. You will then dial the pound symbol twice to be connected to the meeting. When you hear the discussions, your line will be muted and in a listening mode. When you hear your item, press starthree and wait until the symptom indicates you are unmuted system indicates you are unmuted before you begin your comments. Speak slowly and clearly, and make sure that volume is turned down on all your devices. Alternatively, i invite you to submit your Public Comments could you please call item 1. Clerk item 1 is an emergency ordinance to temporarily protect workers from adverse action if they test positive for covid19, are isolating or quarantining or have previously isolated or quarantined, due to covid19 symptoms or exposure, and to protect applicants from discrimination if they test positive for covid19, are isolating or quarantining or have previously item owe lated or quarantined, due to covid19 symptoms or exposure. If this is your item of interest, now would be the time to dial starthree. Mr. Chair . Supervisor mar thank you, mr. Clerk. Id like to welcome paul monge, whos a legislative aide for supervisor ronen, to present on this item. We also have regina dickendrizzi, chairman of the Small Business commission, to answer questions if needed. Hi, supervisors. Im here to speak on the s. A. F. E. R. Act, which stands for safeguards against employee firings or restrictions. Here in San Francisco, widespread testing has been critical to the citys response to the pandemic, but our opportunity to offer widespread testing to the city prevents further transmission of the virus. Unfortunately, for some of our residents, a lack of adequate covid protections created barriers from accessing this testing. While a covid positive worker whos quarantining cannot legally be fired or be forced to use unpaid leave, wosome workers are still vulnerable at being fired just because theyre quarantining. The s. A. F. O. R. Makes it illegal to demote, suspend, or reduce benefits or in any manner discriminate against an employee whos off work because theyre quarantining because of covid19. What really motivated supervisor ronen to introduce this ordinance was a recent study of residents living in the mission, and that study was illuminating and revealing the fear of losing ones employment really discouraged a number of workers from taking care of themselves or feeling force today go to work in the first place. [inaudible] who have no alternative access to income during the period of quarantining. So by expanding employment protections for workers who test positive for covid or quarantining, this ensures that workers can confidently pursue income without losing income or the risk of losing employment. Were hopeful that this legislation will empower citizens to get tested. Lastly, we would [inaudible] capacities and understanding of this legislation, as well as with Worker Rights organizations and the office of labor standards and enforcement themselves. So just to quickly highlight those four amendments, which you all should have, the first is amending sections three of this legislation, which provides a more precise definition of an independent contractor who would be protected under the provisions of this legislation, and it does so by creating a clear threshold to this. Second was 4c, and that is an adverse action taken against an employee was established by a separate independent basis, which could be a workers performance or misconduct. The next would be adding section 4d as a replacement to 5a, allowing employers to require workers to identify the general basis for their absence or inability to work, but it wouldnt go as far as having an employee to provide medical Health Records providing the status of their Health Regarding covid, protecting their health privacy. And last, adding section 4d as a replacement to 5a, affording the affording the department the ability to act upon a potential violation while the due course of an investigation is still ongoing, which means its a little bit longer. It would support a worker being reinstated in the interim period until that incident is fully conducted. So those are the four amendments that we would like to bring forward in partnership with the sponsors here today, and im here to answer any questions. Chair mar thank you, mr. Monge, for your work on this extremely important ordinance to protect workers rights and especially the rights of essential frontline essential workers and particularly low wage workers in these really challenging times right now. So and i think this is just another example of really important legislation that as a board have worked on and moved forward to support workers and support workers rights during the health and economic crisis. And even on for this committees agenda, you know, items 2 and 4 are zoo examples of that, as well. So thanks again, mr. Monge, and supervisor ronen, for all of your work on this, as well as the workers rights organizations on moving this item forward. Im proud to cosponsor it and support it. Colleagues, do you have any questions . Supervisor peskin mr. Chair, i have read the amendments and support those, and thank you, mr. Carroll, for sending those around earlier this morning. Chair mar supervisor haney . Supervisor haney thank you, chair mar. And i agree, this is such a critical protection act. I was out at one of our testing sites a few weeks ago, or maybe its been a couple months ago now. And i was out there with a couple of people out there to be tested, and they were terrified if it came back positive, they would be required when they were forced to quarantine, and they walked away. So this is why i think weve had some challenges in addressing the spread of covid among some of our workers because they dont have access to basic protections in some cases. And so this, along with the p. P. O. Laws and the sick leave laws that youve let on, chair mar, i think is critical to protect our workers and also to protect everyone from the spread of covid in our city. So im not sure that im on as a cosponsor, but i would love to be added on as a cosponsor, and thank you, supervisor mar and mr. Monge, for your leadership. Chair mar okay. Why dont we go to Public Comment . Mr. Clerk, are there any callers on the line . Clerk thank you, mr. Chair. Well see if there are any callers on the line. For those who have already connected to our meeting via phone, please press starthree if you wish to be entered into the queue to speak on this line. For those of you in the queue, wait until you are prompted, and then begin speaking. For those watching through online or on cable channel 74, call 4156550001. Enter todays meeting i. D. , which is 1461870436. Press pound twice, and then starthree to be entered into the queue to speak. First speaker, please. Hi. My name is tyler and i attend city college, and im a courier for doordash. Youd be surprised how many customers request no Contact Delivery and open the door and hope up any way. Its very important for my safety and the safety of all of those people that im in contact with that i would be able to be tested for covid19 if im concerned is that i may be exposed. Please ensure that this ordinance is unambiguous about protection for gig economy workers, and it sounds like one of those amendments maybe is doing that, so that is great to hear, but i havent actually seen the amendments yet, and, you know, i just want to say, you know, that these companies will do everything to say that oh, were not employees, youre just independent contractors, try to claim the law does not apply to them, so try to make the law as unambiguous as possible. Thank you. Clerk thank you for your comments, tyler. Could we have the next speaker, please. My name is john wong, and i currently live in the city of oakland, but i do gig work on doordash in the city and county of San Francisco. You know, as a carrier, like tyler said, i also come in contact, you know, with multiple different customers and restaurant workers every day, so there is a high level of risk, and, you know, its i try to get tested, you know, for covid19 fairly regularly, you know, you know, especially when im concerned that i might have been infected, and, you know, hopefully, i can stay home if i test positive without worrying that my account has been deactivated. But from what ive heard from other gig workers that are organizing say that they have been deactivated if they test positive for covid19. We as gig workers are denied the most basic of safety nets, and we just want to ensure that all of us workers, regardless of whether we are w2 employees or misclassified independent employees, that we get the protections that we need. Thank you. Clerk thank you for your comments, mr. Wong. Operations, could you connect us to the next caller, please. Operator that was the last caller. Chair mar thank you so much, clerk and operations. Hearing no further callers, Public Comment is closed. You know, actually, i did just want to respond to the two Public Commenters who are dig workers and drivers, and to your points, and just reemphasize, per mr. Monges presentation, one of the amendments that was introduced does establish the definition of a worker that does provide at least two days of labor, and the prior definition does not establish any threshold for independent contractors, so the 16hour threshold provides greater clarity for enforcement of the legislation. Thank you for your comments, and yeah, would just like to move that we adopt the amendments as presented by mr. Monge on behalf of supervisor ronen. Mr. Clerk, can you please call roll. Clerk on the motion to amend as offered by chair mar [roll call] clerk mr. Chair, there are l three ayes. Chair mar thank you, mr. Clerk. And then, i would like to move that we move this forward with a positive recommendation. Clerk on the motion to move this forward to the full board with a positive recommendation [roll call] clerk mr. Chair, there are three ayes. Chair mar thank you, mr. Clerk. Can you please call item number 2 . Clerk yes. Agenda item number 2 is reenactment of an emergency ordinance, that being ordinance number 7420 and also ordinance number 11020, to temporarily require grocery store, drugstore, restaurant, and ondemand Delivery Service employers to provide health and scheduling protections to employees during the Public Health emergency related to covid19. Members of the public who wish to provide Public Comment on this item should call the Public Comment number, 4156550001. Enter the meeting i. D. For today, which is 1461870436. Press pound twice, and starthree to enter the queue. Finally, mr. Chair, im in receipt of your memo to agendize this item to entertain a motion to refer this item to the full board as a Committee Report for consideration. Chair mar supervisor haney . Supervisor haney yes. If youll recall, this emergency ordinance took effect on may 1 and was already renewed once before but will expire on august 31. This legislation strengthens Worker Protections that are covered by the Health Officers office by giving workers an additional level of protection by giving them the right to file a complaint with olse and ondemand delivery must be reimbursed for purchasing masks, hand sanitizers, or other supplies. It requires that drivers and shoppers offer the option of noContact Delivery. It requires an employers providing [inaudible]. Supervisor haney obviously, we are still very much in this state of emergency under this pandemic and protecting our workers that weve seen under some of the spikes have been put at risk, and some of the cases have been connected to workers being unsafe at the workplace. So this will help with that, and i hope for Even Stronger enforcement and outreach to workers to know that these protections and these rights exist, and i want to thank the Committee Members for their support and sponsorship on this ordinance. Chair mar thank you, supervisor haney, for all of your work on protections for workers during the Health Crisis. Why dont we go to Public Comment on this item . Clerk yes, mr. Chair, the moderator will check if there are speakers in the queue. For those who have already connected to our meeting via phone, please press starthree to be moved to the queue to speak on this item. For those of you already in the queue, stand by for the prompt, indicating that your line has been unmuted and providing Public Comment. For those of you that would like to call in, call 4156550001. Enter the meeting i. D. , press pound twice, and then starthree to enter the queue to speak. Could we get the first caller, please. Hi. This is tyler again. I wasnt planning to speak on this item, but since it was on the same agenda, i just wanted to call in and mention the way that the Gig Companies have interpreted this. On doordash, if you work in San Francisco, you now get, i believe its. 78 extra per day, and that is their way to complying with this. Thats about 3 or 4 a week, and i dont know that thats enough to comply with the risk of masks and sanitizer and wipes to wipe down your car. I dont know if it makes sense to amend this or anything like that, but it might be good to clarify how much that reimbursement should be, and i think you mentioned something about outreach to workers. I think that would be important to let people now how they can take advantage of this and how they can file a complaint if they feel like theyre not being reimbursed enough. Clerk thank you very much again, tyler. Could we connected to the we be connected to the next caller, please . Operator that was the last caller. Chair mar great. Seeing no more callers, Public Comment is closed. Supervisor haney . Supervisor haney one, thank you for bringing it up to the Public Commenter, tyler. Additionally, we heard from some of these companies that it didnt apply to them at all, which obviously it does, and the way theyre complying with it is obviously subject to enforcement and regulation, so i would theres a hotline where you can call to report this, and its one of the reasons why enforcement is so critical here. They obviously have to actually reimburse the cost of or a o were explicit about this in the ordinance the cost of gloves, wipes, masks, and hand sanitizers. Chair mar thank you for that clarification, supervisor haney. So yeah, why dont we we move this forward . I would move that make a motion that we move this item forward to the full board with a positive recommendation as a Committee Report for the august 25 meeting of the board of supervisors. Clerk on the motion offered by chair martha the item be recommended as a Committee Report [roll call] clerk mr. Chair, there are three ayes. Chair mar thank you, mr. Clerk. Can you please call item number 3 . Clerk jaent item number 3 is a resolution receipt owe actively approving a third amendment to an emergency agreement between the Human Services agency and 1231 Market Street owner l. P. , for the citys continued use of 459 hotel rooms and associated services, increasing the contract amount by 25,618,54, for a total amount not to compete 35,608,542, and extending the booking period for a potential total term of april 8, 2020 through july 1, 2021. Once again, mr. Chair, this item has been agendized by the board of supervisors for consideration on their august 25, 2020 meeting. Chair mar thank you. Mr. Rhorer . Actually, chair mar, ill start this, and director rhorer will come along. I do have a brief Powerpoint Presentation that i would like to share with you and the watching public with your permission. Chairman chairman ye. Chair mar yes, please, thank you. Supervisor peskin and chair mar, i do want to thank director rhorer and mr. Pennick for taking time out of their busy schedules to brief me on that. Thank you. Hopefully, you can see the screen. Chair mar yes. Perfect. Ill quickly walk you through the the original contract, some administrative amendments, and the third amendment, which is the topic of todays discussion. By way of overview, the Wickham Hotel is at 12931 Market Street, with 459 rooms. This is the largest city shelter in place hotel, and the issue that brings us before you today is the city will soon exhaust the 10 million allowed under the charter. Were not able to exceed that Budget Authority without board approval. H. S. A. Is requesting authority to increase the contract sum in order to allow the city to potentially remain at this hotel through the end of the fiscal year, june 2021. However, the contract amendment, which we will walkthrough in a moment, does allow for the contract to be terminated by the city prior to its expiration on 60 days notice should the need not continue. Under the original contract, the term began on april 8 and ran through august 8, 2020. Four months, or 122 nights. The city sent a notice to extend on a monthtomonth basis in july, indicating its desire to extend beyond the august 8 deadline. Again, the total number of rooms at play are 459. The room rate is 99 per night again, h. S. A. Did not want to mingle the covid population with the general population. Budget for linens is 75,000 per month. Budget for food is 750,000 per month, bringing it to 9,675,000, which is just shy of the charter limit. We had two administrative amendments that have taken place since the original term. This was done administrative

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