A law in Texas will soon override labor ordinances statewide that guarantee, among other things, construction workers are given 10-minute breaks to drink water and rest in the shade.
The law, signed Tuesday by Gov. Greg Abbott (R), will overturn many local laws regulating businesses across Texas, ensuring cities and counties instead follow state codes. Proponents say the law makes it easier for companies to sidestep a patchwork of local regulations to get work done. But opponents warn it overturns worker protections in more liberal municipalities that aren’t able to pass in the state legislature, where the GOP has majorities.
“If you just address worker safety and do it in a consistent manner, then that should be good for business,” state Rep. Maria Luisa Flores (D-Austin) told The Washington Post. “You don’t want your employees dying from heat illness because that impacts your business. I think employers should be some of the folks that are for worker protections.”
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Flores and a colleague introduced two bills this year that would have established a statewide advisory board to set heat illness guidelines for Texas businesses and required mandatory breaks for contractors working for government entities, according to the Texas Tribune. Both bills failed.
The state law overriding local ordinances, House Bill...
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