Mandatory Fingerprinting Places Census New Hires at Risk for Coronavirus
Last week, I received my pre-hire email with next steps to complete ahead of starting my training to join the 2.6 million applicants the U.S. Census Bureau has attracted in order to accomplish the once-a-decade mandate to count everyone in the United States of America.
First thing I was instructed to do was click the link provided in the email and schedule an appointment to get my fingerprints taken. It was mandatory. This, along with a background check, would be done. If I passed, I’d move along in the federal government’s hiring process and receive an email with hiring documents to fill out before being assigned to a training session.
I’m a freelancer who needs the work. I didn’t give it a second thought. This was before President Trump banned travel from Europe and advised against gatherings of more than 50 people. The NCAA season was still on. Disneyland was still open. I could still buy toilet paper anywhere it was sold in the city. My appointment was booked for Monday, March 16 at Office Depot in Burbank.
In the five days since I set the appointment, the CDC has bullhorned guidelines in every possible media format for everyone to follow in order to help prevent the spread of the Coronavirus. The top three of those guidelines are:
Social Distancing — avoiding close contact with others; a 6ft perimeter recommended.
Clean hands often — wash with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after you’ve been in a public place and avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth.
Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces — if hand sanitizer or soap isn’t available, the CDC lays out additional options that can be used to substitute such as EPA registered disinfectants, diluting household bleach, and /or alcohol solutions.
So imagine my horror as I walked past the printing section in the office supply store to get in line for my mandatory fingerprinting appointment and realized no one was even concerned about maintaining a social distance; let alone disinfecting any surfaces. The two people ahead of me in the line were inches from one another waiting to be called up. There were people at the printing machines a few feet from our queue. And the register for the printing section was maybe eighteen inches from where I had to wait my turn.
I swiveled my head tracking where everyone’s position was and adjusted myself as much as possible to maintain a safe perimeter. Unnerved by the obvious disregard for the CDC recommendations, I couldn’t help but fixate on the Office Depot employee overseeing the fingerprinting as she finished up with a forty-something female and then warily called out “next” for the male ahead of me to come to her at the fingerprinting machine.
“Place your right four fingertips on the glass,” she said in a bored tone. She made no attempt to disinfect the fingerprint reader before he touched it. She wore white latex gloves on her hands and thought nothing of adjusting the man’s hands with her own, to position them, for a better reading on the machine, right after touching her nose, face, and hair. I was stunned.
Did they not get the memo? Or did someone just not read it? Maybe it was both. I could only imagine how many people had touched that glass to get their fingerprints taken ahead of this gentleman. The Coronavirus can live 2 to 3 days on a given surface according to a recent study. In addition, it’s believed there is actually another 5 to 10 undiagnosed cases of the Coronavirus for every diagnosed case. Why wasn’t this employee required to follow the CDC guidelines? I’m sure Office Depot wasn’t doing this fingerprinting out of the goodness of their heart. It is federal tax money that’s paying for the service. The least they could do is make an effort to do something in the realm of guidelines outlined by the federal government. The entire experience was shocking. And I’m sure it’s not the only location where this is taking place if 2.6 million applicants have to be processed.
I couldn’t believe the disconnect when it came to requiring U.S. Census Bureau new hires to get our fingerprinting done in exactly the dangerous conditions this same federal government warned against. Just yesterday, the U.S. Census Bureau put out a press release claiming, “The U.S. Census Bureau continues to carefully monitor the coronavirus (COVID-19) situation and follow the guidance of federal, state and local health authorities.” If that were true, how was it possible each person was expected to touch a fingerprint machine that wasn’t being disinfected between every person who touched it?
As I stood in Office Depot, I considered forgoing the short-term work in favor of defending my health. I don’t have the financial resources to get me through a serious illness. For six months, I’ve been applying for work. As a college graduate, I never thought I’d be on the verge of homelessness. But as the months drag on, and resume after resume goes out with no response, I’ve become increasingly alarmed watching my savings dwindle to fumes in my bank account.
I cycled through the likelihood of getting hired for anything else in the coming weeks in my thoughts as I watched the employee finish up taking the male’s fingerprints. I had seconds to determine if I was going to risk touching the unsanitary machine or bolt and take my chances another gig would show up now that the stock market was doing a nose-dive, layoffs and furloughs were starting to be discussed, and a recession is likely according to experts.
I asked a young Hispanic woman behind the register for a manager in the printing section as a redheaded female busy body stepped up and was all ears to see where this was going. The Hispanic woman asked how she could help me. I explained that I was there to get my fingerprints taken but was concerned that the employee overseeing the process wasn’t wiping the fingerprint reader down with any sort of disinfectant between those touching it.
“The government hasn’t sent us anything to disinfect with,” this manager responded. “They did in the beginning, but now it’s gone.” She went back to ringing up the redhead as if her answer was satisfactory. I wanted to ask her ‘how hard would it be for her to google the CDC website and find a solution, be proactive, take a minute to care about her community at large.’ But then, the male finished with his fingerprinting and brushed past me to walk out of the store.
“Next,” the employee called out. It was my turn. An alert came on the my phone announcing new guidelines and restrictions from the president for the Coronavirus. I looked out towards the exit wanting to run. Instead, I hit delete on the alert and stepped up to the machine to get my fingerprints done.
I believe in being socially responsible. I want to work so I can pay my bills. And, I want to protect those with compromised immune systems from getting the Coronavirus as well as my own health. It’s a shame the federal government and Office Depot are indifferent to the fact they made me have to chose between those goals.
Thankfully, I was able to hurry to the bathroom as soon as I finished and wash my hands with soap for 20 seconds right after my fingerprinting was done. The two people ahead of me did not do the same. Twenty-five new cases of Coronavirus were diagnosed today in Los Angeles. The CDC isn’t hiding a solution to beating this outbreak. It’s up to each and every person to go the extra mile and find solutions in the face of adversity. If we don’t, this outbreak hasn’t even begun.
