Supervisors Criticized
Taco Bell Inspector Resigns Under Fire

By MEREDITH KOLODNER

An investigation into how a rat-infested Kentucky Fried Chicken/Taco Bell passed a health inspection in February concluded last week with recommendations that the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene fire the inspector and significantly improve management oversight. The inspector opted to resign.

LILLIAN ROBERTS: Need more inspectors.

The Department of Investigation found that the inspector under-reported rodent-related findings which constituted a "gross dereliction" of her duties. It also criticized her supervisors, stopping short of suggesting their removal, and recommended re-training for all employees. An internal Health Department investigation went further, laying out extensive changes in its inspection procedures.

Union: Hire More

Officials at District Council 37, which represents the inspectors, called for an increase in staffing and said they were requesting a labor-management meeting with Health Commissioner Thomas R. Frieden to discuss how to improve the inspection process.

"For over ten years, DC 37 has called for more restaurant inspectors," said DC 37 Executive Director Lillian Roberts in a statement, "because it is impossible to make sure there are no rodent problems in all our city's restaurants without proper staffing." Union officials believe the current force of 100 inspectors should be doubled.

FITZ REID: 'Embarrassment' spurred force-out.

A Health Department spokeswoman said officials are currently assessing the need for additional inspectors as they consider expanding the breadth of rodent investigations in restaurants, but that they do not believe the expansion would require an additional 100 inspectors. The DOI review was ordered after television cameras captured rats running through the downtown Manhattan KFC/Taco Bell the day after it passed inspection on Feb. 22. A senior inspector made a complete inspection (the first inspector had been ordered to perform only a partial one) and closed the restaurant Feb. 23.

Problems No Secret

DOI noted that the city received numerous complaints about the KFC/Taco Bell on its 311 line between Dec. 23, 2006 and Feb. 12, 2007. A complaint to Councilwoman Maria del Carmen Arroyo that a rat had fallen through a hole in the ceiling was passed on to the department on Jan. 22, but it took a month to inspect the restaurant due to an incorrect address and internal e-mail problems, DOI found.

The initial inspector, Cemone Thomas, had been working for the Health Department for less than two years. She therefore had no right to an impartial hearing and chose to resign.

DOI found that Ms. Thomas reported 87 droppings in three areas to her supervisor after the inspection, but testified to DOI that she remembered seeing four areas and 20 additional droppings. If over 100 dropping are observed, a restaurant fails inspection, which can lead to its immediate closure. Investigators said no there was no evidence of bribery, but that they suspected Ms. Thomas might have been trying to avoid the extra work involved if the restaurant had failed.

Executive Vice President Fitz Reid of DC 37's Local 768, which represents the inspectors, called the firing a "political act" and said that the inspector's rookie status and lack of job security made her "easy pickings."

Scapegoating Charged

"The debate about how many extra violation points she should have found does not hide the fact that what she did was not a firing offense," Mr. Reid said. "However, the story made the news and embarrassed the city, and for this reason, Ms. Thomas had to be sacrificed."

DOI noted that Ms. Thomas's supervisor, Marina Politis, failed to instruct Ms. Thomas to conduct a full investigation after she reported her findings, which it said "would have been routine in cases where preliminary findings suggest infestation." The report recommended that the Health Department simplify its scoring system and re-train its inspectors and supervisors. It also suggested that restaurants be made to post notices of violations when they fail an inspection but are not forced to close.

The Health Department is reviewing DOI's report and exploring its recommendations, according to a department spokeswoman.

The department's own internal investigation found that it "currently lacks an adequate mechanism to recognize and respond to multiple complaints" involving a particular restaurant. It also said that the supervisor who assigned the initial inspection should have ordered a complete inspection instead of the partial one performed by Ms. Thomas, and that the Director of Customer Service should have ordered a full inspection once she was made aware of Ms. Thomas's partial findings. The Department has re-assigned the Director and is pursuing "relieving her of her supervisory responsibilities."

Monitor for Repeaters

Officials said they have already changed the department's policies to require a complete inspection in response to complaints about a restaurant, and that they are developing a system to monitor 311 for repeated complaints.

They are also planning to expand the agency's new "rodent-control academy" for restaurant inspection staff.

DC 37 officials argued that in addition to more training, the department should ask its workers for suggestions on how to improve the system.

"Our members' views would be helpful when it comes to the issues of the frequency of inspections, shift times, the need for more sanitation pick-ups, and other matters," said Ms. Roberts. "We have the same goal as the Department - to make sure that incidents like the one at KFC/Taco Bell never happen again."