TikTok tells LA workers affected by wildfires to use their hours/sick if they can’t work from home

Wildfire is here destroying the greater Los Angeles areaIt’s burning 45 square kilometers, burning more than 1,300 homes, and forcing nearly 180,000 people to evacuate as of Thursday. And yet, TikTok’s LA employees are being told to continue their work at home or use their days/sick days if that’s not possible, while the company’s LA office remains closed due to power outages caused by the storm.

Already, the Palisades Fire is close enough to the TikTok office that smoke can be seen through the windows. But even the Culver City office itself is not under the law to force them to leave During this time, all the buildings and many of the workers’ houses are affected by fire, storms, and other problems.

TikTok employees in the area come from all over the LA area — some just commute — and many of their homes don’t have power, Wi-Fi, or both, we understand from TikTok employees. Others may be ordered to move (although we cannot confirm this at this time).

Unfortunately for workers who are facing this major natural disaster, TikTok is telling them to use their time or sick time to count the days they have to take off because of this.

In a message from TikTok management to LA employees, the company told employees that the LA office will be closed on January 8 and will remain closed until Sunday, January 12, as the fire continues to ravage the area and the office is without power. The days on which the office is closed are intended to be Work from Home days without rest, however – unless the team leader decides otherwise.

In one message, an HR representative shared links to other company resources for those affected by the fire, including the Mental Wellbeing Portal, a sign-up process for free mental health sessions and Lyraand a link to TikTok’s “PSSL” policy. This means that the TikTok app is paid for sick and safe – especially, during sick days and on your days.

LA TikTok employees have 10 paid sick/personal days (PSSL) per year plus 15 days of PTO (paid time/vacation), if hired before June. These sick days are also coveted, as TikTok’s strict back-to-office policies require employees to work at the office at least three days a week. (Days of the week are decided by the group and cannot be changed to other days if needed.)

This means that if an employee is not feeling well, such as a cold or flu, and they do not want to spread their illness to their colleagues, they have the opportunity to stay at home. But because they have to be in the office for three days each week, they are still required to use their PSSL hours and take days off when they are working-from-home sick (instead of being allowed to work from home without penalty).

This week, TikTok’s LA employees are being asked to use their days/sick days if they can’t work from home due to power or Wi-Fi outages, or if they’re ordered to move (unless their entire team is given time off, which is not the case for many affected by the fire). This leaves them with a few days a year to use when they are sick or in an emergency, such as staying home to care for a sick child. If they don’t have enough PSSL hours, they can borrow next year or use their PTO time instead, we understand.

Employees who are able to work from home must still visit their “My RTO” website, where they manage their sick time, and change their work from home status to “natural disaster” to avoid penalties. This will not reduce their PSSL hours, however.

Currently, TikTok’s PSSL policy documents do not state that the time can be used for natural disasters, such as this wildfire.

Instead, the law says employees can use the time off for physical or mental health, to care for a sick family member, or if the office is closed by “public authority order” for public health reasons. emergency, including exposure to infectious agents, natural toxins, or hazardous substances. (Although, arguably, the fumes in the area may be “hazardous,” not every TikTok LA worker exposed to the fumes is under a federal evacuation order.)

In several of the internal messages that we have shared with us, workers say that their buildings are without power, or their entire city is without power. (News reports indicate that some 4 million people are without power due to the wildfire since yesterday). Some workers are worried about how bad their air quality is. Some are worried that they will have to use expensive battery power or generator fuel to run errands at home, because it is not known how long these blackouts will last.

Considering the problems of TikTok that are under the influence of the impending ban in the USwhich may already be wreaking havoc on US workers’ health and mental health, being told to continue dealing with this kind of disaster seems a little callous. In fact, some internal communications reviewed by TechCrunch have a “business as usual” to them despite the scale of the impending disaster. One manager, for example, reached out to an employee without authority to change some of their actions, the reports show.

Employees are advised to contact their EAP (Employee Assistance Program) or HR rep if they are told they need to relocate. Although there are many messages from leaders emphasizing that workers should prioritize their safety and health, asking workers to worry about spending their days if they can’t work from home seems to be inconsistent with this issue.

TikTok was approached for comment but did not respond before publication.

Sarah Perez can be reached via email at sarahp@techcrunch.com or @sarahperez.01 on Signal.