Thread by @TexasTribune

1/ Some Texas cities have taken a lax approach to enforcing emergency COVID-19 orders.

In some cases that has placed workers at risk of contracting the virus.

New with @ProPublica. bit.ly/2Xbkfi3

2/ In six Texas cities, roughly 300 citations were issued from mid-March to the end of April, far fewer than the number of violations found.

For every 20 violations we identified with @ProPublica in those six cities, authorities handed out one citation. bit.ly/2Xbkfi3

3/ For every example of aggressive enforcement, there are far more instances of leniency — and in some cases a lax approach that placed workers at risk of contracting the virus. bit.ly/2Xbkfi3

4/ El Paso is home to 19,000 call center workers.

Here, supervisors instructed employees to hide, flee their workspaces and spread out when inspectors arrived, according to city complaint reports, as well as interviews with more than a dozen employees. bit.ly/2Xbkfi3

5/ Employees at the Alorica East call center told us management was dismissive about safety concerns.

The company only began implementing social distancing and other protective guidelines after employees said management told them workers tested positive. bit.ly/2Xbkfi3

6/ A spokesperson for the Alorica East call center defended the company’s response to the pandemic, saying Alorica was early to adopt safety measures including temperature checks, masks and virtual meetings. bit.ly/2Xbkfi3

7/ Despite more than 295 complaints about Alorica and a handful of other El Paso call centers, as of last week fire marshal inspectors had not cited a single violation.

Officials say they lack the authority to do so under the governor’s orders. bit.ly/2Xbkfi3

8/ Meanwhile Austin, so far, has issued just two citations.

Laredo and Dallas have written hundreds of tickets, in addition to making a handful of arrests.

bit.ly/2Xbkfi3

9/ A smoke shop chain was cited 16 times in San Antonio but received only verbal guidance in Austin. bit.ly/2Xbkfi3

10/ And Houston has been taken to court over at least one of its enforcement decisions: shutting down a strip club that reopened.

The club argued that it was primarily a restaurant with added entertainment. The courts ultimately sided with the business. bit.ly/2Xbkfi3

11/ The erratic pattern foreshadows a new struggle: How should cities and counties interpret an entirely new set of regulations around reopening — especially while Gov. Greg Abbott’s directives keep changing? bit.ly/2Xbkfi3

12/ In recent weeks, Abbott and the state’s other Republican leaders have blasted local officials in Dallas and Houston for what they called overzealous enforcement of COVID-19 regulations. bit.ly/2Xbkfi3

13/ Last week, @TDCAA issued the following guidance: “If the governor is going to keep changing the tune he plays as he leads the state out of this pandemic, there is little incentive to put your own necks on the line to enforce an order that could be invalidated the next day.”

14/14 Read more here. bit.ly/2Xbkfi3

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