IBEW 1245 has received a number of questions regarding PG&E’s new policy requiring members to use the “LiveSafe” program to report their daily health check. As always, the safety and security of our members remains our #1 priority, and while we are all working together to reduce the risk of infection as much as possible, we are also intent on protecting members’ rights to privacy, fair pay, and fair treatment in the workplace. We’re hoping that the information below will provide clarity to our members.
How does the LiveSafe health check process work? If you have a PG&E issued phone, you can download the LiveSafe app to automatically submit your health check on days that you are required to leave your home to perform work. If you don’t have a PG&E phone, and/or don’t have a personal phone, or don’t want to download the app onto your personal phone, you can use a web browser and navigate to bit.ly/pgehealthcheck.
You are not required to use your own equipment to complete the health check. For members who don’t have your a phone or don’t want to use it, simply report to your worksite and use a PG&E computer to complete the health check first thing by navigating to bit.ly/pgehealthcheck.
What will LiveSafe and/or PG&E being doing with health check data? After pressing management for information, we’ve been told that only PG&E owns and stores the information, not LiveSafe. PG&E says that they will use the information for the purpose of conducting the daily health check, and that they will be deleting the data every 24 hours. Management committed to restricting access to the data in accordance with HIPAA privacy requirements. The union will work to verify that PG&E keeps our members’ data and privacy secure. According to PG&E, members who download the app to their devices are able to manage the app’s privacy settings (see LiveSafe user guide for instructions on how to do this). Again, if you don’t want to use the app, you can use the web form instead.
What happens if a member gets a negative response on LiveSafe due to a family member’s exposure or health condition? PG&E confirmed that employees in these types of situations will be provided with TOWPWP (Time Off With Permission With Pay).
Do members who are working from home need to do the health check? At this point, management is only requiring the health check from employees who have to leave their homes in order to perform work. If your work assignment does not require you to leave your home, you are not required to use LiveSafe or report your health condition to PG&E. If your supervisor tries to require you to do the health check when you are just working at home, you may explain that it is not required, and remember that you can always contact a shop steward or business rep if necessary.
As the number of positive COVID cases continues to increase, we urge all of our members to take every precaution to prevent the spread of the disease. Members are urged to be diligent in wearing face coverings, washing/sanitizing their hands frequently, and keeping a distance of 6 feet or more between yourself and others whenever possible. If you’re feeling sick, stay home.
If you have any additional questions or concerns, please contact your business rep. To look up your rep’s contact info, please visit https://ibew1245.com/ask-your-rep/.For more info and the latest updates on COVID-19, we welcome you to visit the COVID-19 sections of our website at https://ibew1245.com/covid19/.
— Tom Dalzell, IBEW 1245 Business Manager and Bob Dean, IBEW 1245 Senior Assistant Business Manager