Problem worker probe considered

The county Board of Supervisors on Tuesday will consider ordering the auditor-controller to investigate the county’s handling of problem employees who worked at Martin Luther King Jr.-Harbor Medical Center.

Under a motion proposed by Supervisor Zev Yaroslavksy, the auditor-controller would be asked to investigate who failed to track employees with county discipline records or criminal convictions.

The Times has reported in recent weeks that the county had failed to track such employees and take appropriate action. The county was notified over the last year of employees who had committed serious crimes or had lied about their criminal histories, but no action was taken against them.

The Board of Supervisors and the county’s chief executive officer so far have refused to release details about employees with criminal histories or its database tracking employees who had been disciplined and their current status.

-- Garrett Therolf