I work for a electrical construction company in Smith county tx we are working on a fully functional school no dire need for us to be here why are we considered essential covid is being spread throughout our crew
1 reply
Mar 31, 2020
If coronavirus is actually being spread throughout your crew, then work should not continue. Even if you're considered an essential business - if the site cannot safely operate, then it's almost a certainty that the public agency in charge of the project would allow for your work to cease if your workers are getting sick and also infecting the job site. So, notifying your employer, their customer, or the public agency might be a useful step toward being allowed to stay home.
As for determining whether you're an essential business - Texas has not yet made any statewide stay at home order (though one may be coming soon), so there isn't a ton of guidance there. Once a statewide order comes down, it will be easier to determine what work is essential and why. In the meantime, many cities and counties are issuing their own stay home orders and determinations on what businesses are considered "essential." You can learn more about that here: More than 50 Texas cities and counties have issued stay-at-home orders.
Finally, to the point of "why" public projects are allowed to continue - it makes sense that government projects, to some degree, would need to continue. But, admittedly, that makes the most sense for projects that are necessary for public safety and for the use of public works - like necessary utilities, infrastructure, etc. And, doing non-emergency work on a school that will be empty for an extended period of time anyway doesn't make a lot of logical sense as being designated "essential." But, that's the course that most states are currently taking.
For help keeping track of where stay at home orders have been issued, and for easy access to specific TX counties' stay home orders, this tracker from Levelset is extremely useful: Can I do Construction Work In my State?