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Texas Tribune

@TexasTribune

, 8 tweets, 4 min read

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1/ The government wants you to work from home.

So why are these government workers required to come to the office?

#coronavirus #COVID19 #COVID_19

bit.ly/33xMSIF

2/ Despite federal and state guidance, interviews with employees show that government agencies at every level — local, state, federal — are still requiring many workers to come in, forcing them to choose between their health and their job security. bit.ly/33xMSIF

3/ At Austin’s IRS building, many of the workers are elderly with underlying health issues, making them more vulnerable to the virus.

It’s like working “in a nursing home on a cruise ship — the IRS Princess,” said Timothy Darby Griffiths. bit.ly/33xMSIF

4/ State workers in many departments have been freed to work from home — like the Texas Department of Agriculture, which announced a widespread telework policy Tuesday. bit.ly/33xMSIF

5/ At the Texas Department of Transportation, office staff members are now required to work remotely.

But its field operations employees, including maintenance crews, construction managers and ferry operators, have been asked to continue working. bit.ly/33xMSIF

6/ Field staffers — regularly tasked with cleaning debris after car accidents and repairing roads while cars zoom by — feel left out to dry.

“It’s a risky, risky thing that we do every day, and they preach safety to us all the time.” bit.ly/33xMSIF

7/ In Humble — a city of about 16,000 — all city employees, including nonessential ones, were told Monday to continue reporting to their offices, according to an email obtained by The Texas Tribune. bit.ly/33xMSIF