San Bernardino, CA asked in Employment Law and Gov & Administrative Law for California

Q: Gov Newsom announced shutdown citing this code and for only essential workers to go to work.

Code 8665 was announced in a declaration to stay home last night. My job is to check vacant properties for squatters and it is very bad if I don’t do this. They will move in and take over. I am self employed and contracted. Am I part of the necessary work force? Does this read as a document for government entities and not applicable to the private sector?

1 Lawyer Answer

A: We are in a whole new set of circumstances and it is not easy to know exactly how the Governor's Order will be interpreted. On its face it appears to say you must stay at home unless you carry out one of the 16 essential government services referenced in the Order. However you also need to consider the intent of the Order. We are facing a very serious health threat that you should not overlook simply because you want to keep working. The reason for the Order is to keep the virus from spreading, and even if you don't care about getting the virus, you getting it can cause an exponential spread among your friends, families and people you run into in the grocery store.

I encourage you to take the Order seriously. Good luck to you.

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