Lawsuit: A Riverside County employee died of Covid-19 he contracted at work; his supervisors ignored safety measures and repeated requests to work from home

RIVERSIDE, CALIF., Jan. 10, 2022 – Supervisors at Riverside County’s flood control district ignored Covid-19 safety measures and cost a Riverside man his life, according to a lawsuit filed Monday. His family and attorneys will ask for justice and accountability at a press conference at noon Monday, Jan. 10, outside Riverside Superior Court. 

Michael Haywood’s bosses knew of his underlying health issues – he was diabetic, had a respiratory condition and was a two-time cancer survivor. Yet, as the pandemic worsened, they ignored and denied his repeated accommodation requests, including the request to work from home, after Gov. Gavin Newsom’s March 2020 executive order requiring people to stay home, according to the lawsuit.

In June, when the wearing of masks was mandated under another Newsom executive order, flood control’s leadership did not ensure workers complied with safety protocols including indoor masking, social distancing, or even screening employees for exposure, the lawsuit says.

When Haywood told Brian Tieg, the flood district’s senior safety coordinator, that the department was not following Covid-19 safety measures, “Tieg told Mr. Haywood that he too was trying to implement Covid-19 precautions in the office but that upper management… was preventing him from doing so,” the lawsuit states.

On Dec. 17, 2020, contact tracing determined that Haywood and several others in the same office were exposed to the virus. By then, Haywood had already called in sick for three days. He tested positive the same day he was told of his Covid exposure. On Christmas Day he was hospitalized. 

His wife Elizabeth, whose autoimmune disease made her especially vulnerable and kept her indoors at home on doctor’s orders since the pandemic’s early days, tested positive on Jan. 5, 2021. 

Haywood died on Feb. 2, 2021.

“Employers like the County of Riverside are legally obligated to do everything reasonably necessary to protect the life, safety, and health of their employees.” said Attorney V. James DeSimone, of V. James DeSimone Law. DeSimone, an employment and civil rights attorney, represents Elizabeth Haywood and the couple’s adult children in the lawsuit. “The county, by deliberately refusing to institute common sense safety protocols, caused the death of a good man, husband, father, and employee.”

Among the causes of action, Riverside County is being sued for wrongful death and the violation of the Fair Employment and Housing Act based on disability discrimination and the failure to provide reasonable accommodation, and more. 

The county is also being sued for negligence resulting in injury to Eilzabeth Haywood, who survived her husband’s “take home” Covid-19 but was left with long-term physical conditions including cognitive and breathing problems, and psychological consequences including panic attacks and vertigo.

The lawsuit was filed Jan. 7 at Riverside County Superior Court in Riverside.

Los Angeles employment and civil rights attorney V. James DeSimone has dedicated his 35-year law career to providing vigorous and ethical representation to achieve justice for those whose civil and constitutional rights are violated.

Related Media:

CNBC: Companies face a tangle of state policies following Supreme Court ruling against federal vaccine mandate
LA Times: Riverside County ignored pleas of at-risk worker who died of COVID-19, family’s lawsuit alleges
CBS: Family Of Riverside County Employee Files Wrongful Death Lawsuit Over His Exposure To COVID-19 At Work
Newsweek: Attorney Calls Man’s Death After Contracting COVID at Work ‘Warning Sign’ for Businesses
MSN: Family Of Riverside County Employee Files Wrongful Death Lawsuit Over His Exposure To COVID-19 At Work
Yahoo: Family Sues Riverside County For Loved One’s Death From COVID-19
Fox 11: Family accuses employer of making their loved one work on-site despite pleas to work remotely
Fox 10 Phoenix: Family accuses employer of making their loved one work on-site despite pleas to work remotely
NBC Palm Springs: Family Of Riverside County Member Who Died From COVID-19 Files Wrongful Death Lawsuit Over Exposure To COVID-19 At Work
Telemundo: Demandan a condado de Riverside por muerte de empleado debido a complicaciones por COVID-19 
La Opinión: Familia de empleado fallecido por COVID demandó al Condado de Riverside por presunta negligencia laboral
Press Enterprise: Riverside County Employees Covid-19 Death Could Have Been Prevented Lawsuit Alleges
The Mercury News: Riverside County Employees Covid-19 Death Could Have Been Prevented Lawsuit Alleges

V. James DeSimone

Attorney V. James DeSimone is a 35+ year experienced civil rights & employment lawyer in Southern California. Jim is a Super Lawyer, Rated “Superb” by Avvo, and is a US News & World Report Best Law Firm in California.