Catarino Silva Jr. has been out of work since March 30. Luckily, he’s been able to get his unemployment benefits.

But as more businesses begin to reopen across the state, people receiving benefits will be under more pressure to return to work. The prospect of returning to work, where the possibility of exposure to COVID-19 increases, is nerve-wracking for many Texans whose underlying health conditions put them at high risk if they catch the virus.

Silva — who suffers from asthma, diabetes and heart disease — knows that choosing to return to work could be a life-or-death decision.

“We don’t even have a cure,” said Silva, 56, of Katy. “If they say yes, I’m required to go to work, I’ll have to go out and work and I’m basically playing [Russian] roulette at that point.”

For the past 16 years, Silva has worked at a company that makes pressure vessels for oil and gas production. As a supervisor he oversaw the production of the vessels and would have people going in and out of his office every day.

“Work from home? Not in our field,” he said. “You gotta see that everything is being done correctly. I’m responsible for the whole job.”

Late last month, Gov. Greg Abbott ordered the Texas Workforce Commission to change its unemployment rules to allow some workers to continue to receive benefits if they could not return to work because of health concerns. That list included people over 65.

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It did not include people like Silva who are under 65 but have health conditions that put them in a high-risk group. Those instances are considered on a case-by-case basis.

But with the commission still receiving more than 1 million daily calls to its hotline, Silva and others are concerned that they may lose their benefits while their cases are investigated.

“We’re having a terrible time getting through [already],” Silva said. “If they're wanting to talk to us case by case, how am I going to get through?”

Lack of clarity

Cisco Gamez, a spokesman for the commission, said the agency would “in general” side with employees if they had a serious health condition, like heart problems for instance, and would “most likely” keep their unemployment benefits going while their case is investigated.

“We understand these are unusual times,” Gamez said. “We understand some people cannot return to work, whether because they’re at high risk, or child care, or whether someone in their family is high risk or they're quarantined. A lot of those factors we're considering.”

Unless there is a red flag, he said, workers should continue to receive benefits during an investigation into their high risk health conditions.

“We're not just going to cut them off,” Gamez said.

Still, labor advocates say excluding people with serious health conditions from the list of those automatically protected from losing their unemployment benefits causes unnecessary panic and confusion.

“It doesn’t make sense to be vague about these things,” said Jonathan Lewis, a senior policy analyst with the left-leaning Center for Public Policy Priorities. “TWC needs to be very explicit about who these people are who are at high risk.”

Lewis said the commission should list which kinds of conditions would allow workers to stay home from work because of health concerns. Lewis spoke to a worker this week who was six months shy of 65 and has serious health conditions, but was being called back to work because there was no clarification from the commission.

“They need to let them know which employees are at high risk and should not be called back to the workplace,” Lewis said. “The emphasis has been on the person claiming benefits to figure out if they can continue on benefits. Responsibility needs to be taken by the employer.”

Gamez said those conversations will be left to employers. If an employee cannot return to work, he said, that could represent a cost to the employer who would have to hire and train a new employee. Because of that, he said, those conversations are best left between employees and employers.

If a worker was fired after not being able to return, Gamez said, that employee could still be eligible for unemployment benefits.

Worries mount

Silva, who is the main provider for his wife and two sons, said his main concern is what would happen to his family if he became severely sick — or worse.

“If something were to happen to me, my family suffers,” Silva said. “If I got sick and couldn’t work or died, they’d be in a lurch.”

Being out of work has already started taking its toll. Silva lost his health insurance a month after losing his job. He’s started skipping trips to the doctor to save money.

“I couldn’t even go to my heart doctor because who knows what it’s gonna cost me?” he said. “Luckily I have enough medicine to carry me through for the next two months. If this goes on long-term it can be a real problem.”

His wife, who has thyroid problems, is still working at an optometrist’s office but Silva doesn’t know how long that work will last, adding to the pressure he feels to return to work if he is called on.

Last week, the Texas Workforce Commission told lawmakers it may soon reinstate the requirement that people taking benefits show they’ve sought work and are willing to take any “suitable work” offered to them.

With the oil industry reeling, Silva worries that he wouldn’t be able to get a job in another sector that would pay him enough to cover his mortgage and other bills. But his main concern is for his health.

He hadn’t taken the virus seriously in the beginning, he said. He was concerned, but didn’t pay it much mind and did not start taking the recommended precautions.

But as he started seeing outbreaks of the virus in New York and Louisiana, the threat seemed to get closer.

Then, one day, his thinking changed.

“I was listening to Christian radio and the man said ‘You still got a responsibility to your loved ones,'” Silva said. “As far as me, I’m not scared for me, but I am worried about them... Hopefully, the governor will say ‘If you’re high risk, you don’t have to [return to work].’”

People in these situations can refuse work and stay on unemployment

--At High Risk: People 65 years or older are at a higher risk for getting very sick from COVID-19.

--Household member at high risk: People 65 years or older are at a higher risk of getting very sick from COVID-19.

--Diagnosed with COVID: The individual has tested positive for COVID-19 by a source authorized by the State of Texas and is not recovered.

--Family member with COVID: Anybody in the household has tested positive for COVID-19 by a source authorized by the State of Texas and is not recovered and 14 days have not yet passed.

--Quarantined: Individual is currently in 14-day quarantine due to close contact exposure to COVID-19.

--Child care: Child’s school or daycare closed and no alternatives are available.

All other situations would be reviewed on a case-by-case basis