|
File Number: 21-101
<br />emergency related to COVID-19; and
<br />WHEREAS, on March 19, 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom issued a “Stay
<br />Home - Stay Healthy” proclamation closing all non-essential workplaces, requiring people to stay
<br />home except to participate in essential activities or to provide essential business services, and
<br />banning all gatherings for social, spiritual, and recreational purposes. In addition to healthcare,
<br />public health and emergency services, the “Stay Home - Stay Healthy” proclamation identified
<br />grocery stores as essential business sectors critical to protecting the health and well-being of all
<br />Californians and designated grocery store workers as essential critical infrastructure workers;
<br />and
<br />WHEREAS, on March 19, 2020, the California State Public Health Officer designated
<br />specific sectors and their workers, including grocery stores, as Essential Critical Infrastructure
<br />Workers (“essential workers”) to ensure the “continuity of functions critical to public health and
<br />safety, as well as economic and national security;” and
<br />WHEREAS, grocery stores are essential businesses operating in San Leandro during the
<br />COVID-19 emergency making grocery workers highly vulnerable to economic insecurity and
<br />health or safety risks; and
<br />WHEREAS, on March 24, 2020, in order to mitigate the effects of COVID-19, Alameda
<br />County’s Public Health Officer issued the “Safer at Home” Order to control the spread of
<br />COVID-19 by closing all non-essential workplaces, requiring people to stay home except to
<br />participate in essential activities or to provide essential business services, and banning all
<br />gatherings for social, spiritual, and recreational purposes. In addition to healthcare, public health
<br />and emergency services, the “Safer at Home” Order identified grocery stores as essential
<br />business sectors critical to protecting the health and well-being of all Californians and designated
<br />their workers as essential critical infrastructure workers; and
<br />WHEREAS, on December 3, 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom extended the
<br />“Stay Home - Stay Healthy” proclamation; and
<br />WHEREAS, on December 3, 2020, in order to mitigate the effects of COVID-19 within the
<br />County of Alameda, the Alameda County Health Department extended the “Safer at Home” Order
<br />to control the effects and spread of COVID-19; and
<br />WHEREAS, on January 17, 2021, the California Department of Public Health reported
<br />another COVID-19 variant that had grown more common across the state since December, with
<br />worrisome signs that this variant may be highly transmissible; and
<br />WHEREAS, on February 3, 2021, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced that
<br />there was a California or West Coast variant of COVID-19 that had grown more common across
<br />the state; and
<br />WHEREAS, as of February 4, 2021, the County of Alameda reported 75,175 case of
<br />COVID-19, including 1,021 deaths; and
<br />WHEREAS, grocery workers working for grocery stores are essential workers who
<br />perform services that are fundamental to the economy and health of the community during the
<br />COVID-19 crisis. They work in high risk conditions with inconsistent access to personal protective
<br />equipment and other safety measures; work in public situations with limited ability to engage in
<br />physical distancing; and continually expose themselves and the public to the spread of disease;
<br />and
<br />WHEREAS, premium pay, paid in addition to regular wages, is an established type of
<br />compensation for employees performing hazardous duty or work involving physical hardship that
<br />can cause extreme physical discomfort and distress; and
<br />Page 2 City of San Leandro Printed on 2/24/2021
|