Brianna Flores said she wasn't sure what to expect when she showed up for her first day of training at the Maximus call center at Hattiesburg's Cloverleaf Mall. One thing she did count on was proper procedures to avoid coronavirus.

After all, she was being trained to take calls on behalf of the CDC from citizens who had questions about the virus.

But she said on March 23 she was crowded into a line of other trainees being asked to show their identification and training cards. Then, she was herded into a large room with about 70 other people and instructed to sit on chairs placed close together.

"What is going on here?" Flores said she thought. "We're working for the CDC and there are no precautions at all put in place.

"For the first two days, a lot of our questions were 'What are you guys doing to protect us?' 'Aren't there any precautions set in place?'

"They would say 'Maximus is concerned about your health and well-being'."

Then the trainees were put into cubicles with no social distancing, she said.

On March 29 — after about a week at the facility, Flores got an email from Human Resources.

"(It said) I had been exposed to COVID-19 in my first three days of orientation," she said.

Lisa Miles, senior vice president for corporate communications and investor relations, said in a statement that Maximus always has employee health in mind.

"Maximus has worked diligently across all our locations, including call centers, to ensure the health and safety of all employees during this crisis," she said. "We are in the process of transitioning as many employees as possible to telecommuting.

"As of April 17, approximately 28% of employees remain on site in our Hattiesburg location. That number will decrease to 17% by the end of next week (Friday)."

Flores was told to self-quarantine for 14 days and that the facility was being cleaned. She never showed any symptoms of coronavirus.

After 14 days, Flores elected to work from home. But she had to have her own headset and internet service to do so.

Miles said the company is trying to get more equipment for its employees who wish to work at home.

"The company has been awaiting deliveries of equipment for several weeks but the incoming inventory has been very slow," Miles said.

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She also laid out a timeline of how Maximus responded to news one of its workers had tested positive for coronavirus.

"March 29 - Maximus is notified that a supervisor in Hattiesburg has tested positive for coronavirus," Miles said. "Site immediately closed and decontamination of the site performed.

"Those employees who may have been exposed to the coronavirus were notified, advised to quarantine for 14 days and prohibited from coming to the call center — during which time they were paid full administrative leave."

Miles said the company had been taking precautions before the employee came down with coronavirus, including on March 18 sending a company-wide email advising employees of the serious nature of COVID-19 with recommendations from the CDC on how to remain safe.

March 25, Maximus' chief executive officer Bruce Caswell mandated to all project managers that every location must adhere to strict social distancing guidelines, regardless of local guidelines, by midnight.

The workers at Maximus call centers are organizing to become part of the union Communications Workers of America. Maximus employs about 10,000 workers in 11 call centers in nine states.

Its workers have written a letter to Caswell demanding a video meeting and allowing call center workers the option of taking emergency paid leave while keeping their insurance coverage if they cannot work from home.

They believe the leave should be extended to anyone who has been diagnosed or exposed to coronavirus, anyone who would be at high risk if they contracted it or who needs to take leave to care for a dependent.

Prior to going to training at Maximus, Flores had been applying for another job. But an extended background check and the coronavirus situation was delaying possible acceptance.

She battled internally with herself about returning to Maximus after her 14-day quarantine. But she said she knew working from home, she would probably be safe from workplace contamination.

"Corporations don't care about you," Flores said. "I didn't know if I needed the money or I needed my safety.

"Working here (at home), they're not going to touch me."

Contact Ellen Ciurczak at eciurczak@gannett.com. Follow @educellen on Twitter.