Complaint Filed Against Sheriff’s Dept. for Reusing Disposable Gloves

The Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration has received a complaint filed against the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department regarding hazards at the Department. Specific items listed in the complaint include the lack of Universal Precautions for handling inmates that are soaked in body fluids in regard to latex glove usage. The complaint alleges that gloves are not readily available to employees and that guards are limited to one pair of disposable latex gloves. It also alleges that contaminated gloves are not replaced and that employees wash and/or decontaminate disposable gloves for reuse rather than using a new pair of gloves when contaminated.

The complaint was filed with the Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration on March 19, 2013 and Jefferson County Director of Facilities and Safety David Longmire was officially notified of the complaint. Certification of the Posting of the TOSHA notification of alleged hazards and complaint number was signed by Jefferson County Sheriff McCoig and the posting date was listed as March 22, 2013.  According to Ron Rich, Manager of Public Sector Operations of Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration, no official response from Jefferson County had been received as of April 2, 2013.  Late last week, Facilities and Safety Director Longmire stated that he had received no response from the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department regarding the matter. Official responses for safety and facility violation allegation are channeled through the Director of Facilities and Safety for Jefferson County.