{"id":6247,"date":"2026-07-15T00:10:15","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T19:10:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=6247"},"modified":"2026-07-15T00:10:15","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T19:10:15","slug":"legionnaires-disease-found-in-california-government-office","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=6247","title":{"rendered":"Legionnaires&#8217; disease found in California government office"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content%2Fuploads%2Fsites%2F2%2F2026%2F07%2F134371007.jpg?quality%3D90%26strip%3Dall\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>State workers have completed their first full work week since California Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered them to<a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/06\/26\/us-news\/gavin-newsom-doubles-down-on-return-to-office-mandate\/\"> return to the office<\/a>\u00a0four days a week starting July 1\u00a0\u2014 and in addition to<a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/07\/08\/us-news\/california-workers-unload-on-gavin-newsoms-return-to-office-order\/\"> parking complaints,<\/a> workers now claim they\u2019re being forced to work in disease-plagued state offices. <\/p>\n<p>Workers\u2019 union Service Employees International Union Local 1000 claimed recently that \u201cunsafe, or potentially unsafe working conditions\u201d have been reported at government buildings, specifically at the Department of Industrial Relations Building in Lodi.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>The Reynolds Building, located in Lodi, is home to the Department of Industrial Relations.  <span class=\"credit\">CBS<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The union said Legionella bacteria was detected in the building last month, contaminating a line that connects to an icemaker.<\/p>\n<p>The bacteria is capable of causing a severe type of pneumonia if infected water is consumed and often grows in \u201chuman-made water building systems,\u201d according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>A box trap filled with insects and debris at a state building.  <span class=\"credit\">ABC10<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module aligncenter wp-block-nypost-editor-primary-tag\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>The Department of Industrial Relations indicated it\u2019s trying to resolve the issue, such as potentially through  flushing plumbing fixtures and the water system. It will notify staff members of any needed precautions, a spokesperson <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sacbee.com\/news\/politics-government\/capitol-alert\/article316447303.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">told the Sacramento Bee<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDIR has shared these findings with property management for the leased building and is coordinating with them as they implement the necessary corrective actions,\u201d said the spokesperson.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>State workers protest Gavin Newsom\u2019s mandate that they return to the office 4 days per week. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Apparently, state government buildings have had a history with the germ. <\/p>\n<p>The union said it\u2019s monitoring other buildings with past incidents, such as the offices for the California Public Employees\u2019 Retirement System.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Legionnaire\u2019s disease bacteria was allegedly found at the Reynolds Building.  <span class=\"credit\">ABC10<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>There are other issues, the union claims. There is a bedbug infestation at the California Department of Education discovered last month by employees. Department of General Services Assistant Deputy Director Fallon Okwuosa told the Bee it acted immediately.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is not true that there is an \u2018infestation\u2019 at the building, nor is it true that DGS has refused to treat the whole building,\u201d said Okwuosa, who added they were considering a whole building treatment as a next step.<\/p>\n<p>Other pests like cockroaches have also reportedly been spotted, the union claimed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf the State is going to force workers back into the office, it has a responsibility to make those workplaces safe,\u201d SEIU said in a statement. \u201cState workers deserve fair pay, affordable healthcare, telework that works and workplaces free from hazards.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The union has been in contract negotiations with the state around fair pay and telework. The return-to-office mandate has been one aspect of the conversations that Newsom <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/06\/26\/us-news\/gavin-newsom-doubles-down-on-return-to-office-mandate\/\">has refused to budge on<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m glad people are getting back to work,\u201d Newsom said at a press conference last Thursday. \u201cIt\u2019s a healthy thing for their mental health.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>State workers have completed their first full work week since California Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered them to return to the office\u00a0four days a week starting July 1\u00a0\u2014 and in addition to parking complaints, workers now claim they\u2019re being forced to work in disease-plagued state offices. Workers\u2019 union Service Employees International Union Local 1000 claimed recently&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6248,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/134371007.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1200","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6247","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-hub"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6247","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6247"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6247\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6248"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6247"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6247"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6247"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}