Harris County Jail Employees File Federal Lawsuit Over Working Conditions
Employees of the Harris County Jail filed a federal class-action lawsuit this week accusing the county of refusing to properly fund and staff the facility.
It asserts that as a result, employees are working extreme hours and mandatory overtime, which it says puts both them and jail inmates at risk and doesn't meet requirements set by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards.
"There's so many knives and shanks that have been discovered, it's incredible that there's not more prisoners that have died and more employees that have not been stabbed," Harris County Deputies Organization President David Cuevas said.
He said due to the shortage, jailers are not even allowed bathroom breaks.
Read more: https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/criminal-justice/2021/09/22/409027/harris-county-jail-employees-file-lawsuit-over-working-conditions/