HUDSON, Mass. —A former Hudson elementary school janitor is suing the school district, claiming her boss ignored her complaints that she was being sexually harassed by a co-worker.

Sandra Nguyen, who worked for more than nine years at the Farley School, alleges her supervisor failed to take action when she complained that a colleague was showing up to work intoxicated, leering at her and making explicit comments about her body, MetroWest Daily News reported Thursday.

Nguyen, who was fired by the school district last year, claims she then faced retaliation from her superiors for speaking out about her treatment and for raising concerns about the behavior of another custodian.

In a lawsuit filed earlier this year in Middlesex Superior Court, Nguyen claims she suffered "substantial emotional and financial harm" as a result, including loss of wages and benefits. She is seeking at least $28,000 in back wages, as well as attorneys' fees and exemplary and punitive damages.

More at source: WCVB

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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -

A company with a big contract to clean the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport is accused of misleading county officials and shortchanging minority businesses in the process.

When the Broward County Commission awarded Sunshine Cleaning a $62 million janitorial contract at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood Airport, the firm promised to spread 30 percent of that wealth to small and minority companies to fulfill its obligations under the County Business Enterprise program.

But the company then created a scheme to mislead the county regarding minority participation, according an Office of Inspector General report issued Wednesday, claiming in reports filed with the county that it provided nearly $11 million in business to those small companies, but in reality only giving about $660,000 in business to them.

Video and more at source: Local 10

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MOSCOW -- Russian authorities have begun to remove foreign brands of detergent and washing powder from stores, claiming that they pose health risks.

The Consumer Protection Agency said in a statement on Tuesday that recent inspections of selected goods by top foreign brands such as Colgate-Palmolive and Procter & Gamble have found high levels of toxic ingredients.

Moscow extended its ban earlier this month on selected food imports from the EU and other countries. Russia, however, has not banned the imports of detergent and washing liquid and most of the producers mentioned by the agency have production facilities in Russia.

More at source: CBS

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“They came to work every single day and performed their jobs well,” said Daisy Cruz, Mid-Atlantic District leader for the Service Employees International Union-affiliated 32BJ, which represents property service workers. “They did nothing wrong. This was a decision based on numbers, they are not looking at the lives they have affected.”

Estela Rios worked five years as a day porter for Teva, earning $14.50 an hour with benefits washing windows and keeping the lobby and bathrooms clean. Through an interpreter, Rios said that on March 13, she and nine of her coworkers were unexpectedly told it would be their final week of employment.

“They suddenly changed contracts, there was no warning that this would be happening,” Rios said. “We have not heard from them since we left.”

After five months of emails, phone calls and letters with no response, Rios and her former coworkers walked to the main gate Thursday in an attempt to meet with Teva officials face-to-face. Led by Cruz, they were met at the front entrance by a Teva representative who did not identify himself. He would not allow the group past security and advised them to use the contact information on the website to communicate with the company executives.

More at source: Bucks County Courier

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SACRAMENTO – Norcal Floor Services, Inc., a North Highlands based janitorial service that had contracts with several area markets, has been hit with citations totaling $459,573 for wage theft. Labor Commissioner Julie A. Su issued the citations after a nearly two-year investigation and audit of the company that alleges they paid 12 workers, many of them recent immigrants from El Salvador, an average wage of $7.53 per hour. California’s minimum wage ranged from $8 to $9 per hour during that period.

The investigation and audit alleges that managers threatened to fire workers who complained about working up to seven days in a row every week, for up to 9 hours a day, without breaks of any kind.

A few of the janitors contacted the Maintenance Cooperation Trust Fund (MCTF), a janitorial watchdog organization, about the workplace abuses. MCTF helped them file a complaint with the Labor Commissioner’s Office.

The citations against Norcal Floor Services include $456,073 for unpaid minimum wages and overtime, liquidated damages and rest and meal period premiums. The Labor Commissioner also assessed $3,500 in penalties for violating overtime, minimum wage, rest and meal period requirements, and for failing to provide itemized wage statements. The janitors’ payments range from $560 to $81,915, based on the amount of time worked during the investigation period.

More at source: CVBJ

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The source of an unusual odor at Jefferson Hospital Monday night was determined to be a spilled cleaning product, a spokeswoman for the hospital said.

Spokeswoman Candy Williams said staff alerted the fire department to an unusual smell in the hospital around 9 p.m.

Crews discovered shortly after that the source of the smell was a cleaning product that spilled in a storage room on the same floor as the operating rooms, Allegheny Health Network Media Relations Director Dan Laurent said.

Williams said as of 10 p.m., the spill had been cleaned up, but firefighters remained at the scene to help with ventilation.

At no time were there any evacuations or impact on patient care, Williams said. 

Source: WPXI

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Embarrassing! - Matt 

Concerns about hospital "superbugs" have spotlighted the need to prevent the spread of germs in health-care settings. But a new report reveals a disturbing lack of knowledge on something as basic as proper cleaning of a patient's room.

Very little research addresses the best ways to disinfect and sanitize the hard surfaces in a hospital room, investigators report in the Aug. 11 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine.

"We basically found that there are studies available to guide actions, but there are much fewer than you might expect for such an important issue," said lead author Dr. Craig Umscheid, an assistant professor of medicine and epidemiology at the University of Pennsylvania's Perelman School of Medicine in Philadelphia.

At any given time, about one in every 25 hospital patients has an infection they got from being at a hospital, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. An estimated 721,000 health care-related infections occurred in 2011, which led to about 75,000 deaths, the authors noted in background information.

Hand-washing receives much attention for preventing the spread of germs, but disinfecting the hard surfaces in an examination room or hospital suite can be just as important, Umscheid said. Many dangerous germs are spread by touching counters, floors, tray tables, bed rails, IV pulls, light switches, toilets, and even call buttons.

Many experts believe that only 50 percent of surfaces are typically disinfected during cleaning of a patient's room, according to background notes.

For this report, researchers reviewed 80 studies published between 1998 and 2014.

The investigators found only five randomized, controlled trials that explored the best ways to disinfect surfaces. Most were before/after studies, in which germs were measured on a surface before and after a cleaning product had been used.

Fewer than 35 percent of the studies focused on infection rates or spread of disease due to unclean surfaces, the researchers said.

They also found that most studies only examined the effectiveness of a single cleaning product or method, rather than comparing it against others.

More at source: WEBMD

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Office MD's of Atlanta Sponsors Gwinnett County Sheriff's 3rd Annual Obstacle Course Race. It was a fun filled battle and Office MD's was there to support the county. 

Office MD's of Atlanta is an up and coming janitorial company making waves in the Health & Wellness field. Our primary clients range from physicians, to clinical, sports medicine, chiropractic, family practices and multi-medical  buildings...

Member: International Janitorial Cleaning Services Assoc.. 

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The University of New Orleans plans to outsource its building services work this fall, a cost-cutting measure that the cash-strapped Lakefront school expects will save more than $1 million in five years at the expense of nearly 80 workers whose jobs are thrown into question.

It’s the latest in a series of moves that UNO has taken in recent years to trim expenses after years of steep funding cuts and declining enrollment.

UNO spokesman Adam Norris said Wednesday that affected employees were notified about the possible change two weeks ago. The Building Services Department includes janitorial and grounds employees.

Norris said 66 classified employees, those covered by Civil Service, and 10 unclassified employees will be affected.

“The reason we’re doing this is to run the university more efficiently and yet do it in a way that doesn’t sacrifice the quality of our academics or the quality of our student experience,” he said.

UNO officials haven’t decided yet who among the unclassified employees will be retained. It also hasn’t hired a contractor to take over the work.

UNO is expected to require the chosen company at least to interview the displaced employees, though there are no guarantees that they will be offered employment. “We’re hopeful, and we would expect, that many of those employees would be able to continue,” Norris said.

UNO has scheduled an Aug. 20 job fair on campus to help the affected employees find jobs, he said.

Norris pointed to the school’s bookstore as another example of a service that the school has outsourced in recent years.

As the school looks for ways to save money, the UNO faculty spent much of last year looking at ways to trim costs among its 80 degree programs, determining which areas should be shored up and which should be restructured or eliminated.

UNO President Peter Fos eventually recommended eliminating six academic programs, one department and 22 faculty and staff positions in a push to save $1 million this academic year and $2.8 million next year.

Since taking the helm in 2012, Fos has eliminated at least 140 positions.

Source: World News Advocate

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